Why it is important to restore the skin barrier

The skin barrier is the skin’s first defense against a multiplicity of potentially irritating or sensitizing external agents.

Healthy skin is intact, elastic, toned and hydrated. All characteristics that can be maintained only if the superficial layers of the epidermis are able to fully perform their “barrier” functions, protecting the deepest and most delicate areas of the dermis from potentially irritating or sensitizing agents present in the external environment and controlling the permeability and transpiration of the physiological water hosted in the intercellular spaces.

Protecting the skin barrier every day is crucial if you want to avoid discomfort such as redness, inflammation, irritation and itching, with all the discomforts and reduction in quality of life that can result, especially when these disorders tend to occur often.

Factors that destabilize the skin barrier

Unfortunately, in everyday life, the skin barrier is exposed to continuous aggression. The use of soaps and detergents that are too aggressive, for example, destabilizes the lipid components of the protective surface microfilm, reducing its waterproofing action and promoting skin dehydration.

The application of creams and cosmetics of not excellent quality or not compatible with individual skin sensitivity promotes sensitization and redness, as well as hair removal, direct contact with clothing made of synthetic or irritating fibers (such as raw wool or linen), exposure to air pollution or chlorine contained in pool water.

In addition, solar radiation (UvA and UvB), together with tanning, causes dehydration, inflammation and reduction of the local immune defenses of the skin. Excessive sweating, in addition to facilitating dehydration and sensitization, finally determines a general destabilization of the skin ecosystem, altering the pH and the balance of the resident microbiota.

Other destabilizing factors of the skin barrier come from within and are mainly related to:

• an unbalanced diet, not able to provide all the micro and macronutrients necessary for the vitality and renewal of tissues
• insufficient fluid intake, as the hydration of the skin is related to that of the body as a whole
• immune disorders that facilitate the appearance of inflammation and sensitization (atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, etc.)
• situations of fatigue and stress
• use of local or systemic drugs that more or less directly alter the composition of the skin microbiota, the activity of the sebaceous glands or the hydroelectrolyte balance of the dermis (antibiotics, antifungals, hormonal therapies, anti-acne preparations, etc.).

How to protect the integrity of the epidermis

In addition to following a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet, rich in vitamins and antioxidant elements, liquids and mineral salts, the main precautions to be taken in everyday life to protect the skin barrier concern personal hygiene, which must include:

• thorough washing, but not too frequent
• the use of good quality detergents, free of soaps, perfumes and other sensitizing additives
• Rinse abundantly with fresh or lukewarm water to remove all traces of detergent
• perfect drying, with soft sponges and without rubbing
• the application of moisturizing and emollient creams after each wash, which favor the restoration of the protective surface hydrolipidic microfilm (always largely removed by cleansing, albeit delicate).

When, despite the respect of these good habits, irritation or mild-moderate sensitization (eczema) localized arise, associated with redness, discomfort, dry skin or more or less intense itching, it is necessary to resort to creams specifically designed to restore the balance of the epidermis, starting from the rapid reconstitution of its superficial hydrolipidic components with “barrier effect”.

The most useful preparations in this regard contain:

• fatty compounds similar to those naturally present in the skin (ceramides, phospholipids, phytosterols, etc.) organized in overlapping layers (lamellar lipids), which integrate perfectly with the endogenous skin barrier, reinforcing it
• emollient and humectant substances, such as coconut oil, shea butter, glycerine and panthenol / pro-vitamin B5, with a strongly moisturizing, soothing and anti-itching action.

The regular application of creams of this type in the skin areas affected by eczema not too accentuated allows to obtain a rapid relief from the symptoms and to protect the skin, temporarily weakened, from further external aggressions, favoring the restoration of the dermoepidermal barrier.

Containing only highly dermocompatible substances, moisturizing / emollient creams of pharmacological quality can also be applied on delicate areas such as the groin and face and, in addition to being used alone in case of mild eczema, represent a valuable adjuvant intervention in the presence of more intense eczema.