What a Leading Beauty Expert Says to Use—and Avoid—If You’re Stripping Your Skin Barrier

Stripping your skin barrier? What to use and what to avoid by a leading beauty expert

If you’re not seeing maximum results from your skin routine, or you’re being left red, flakey or battling breakouts, it might not be that your ingredients aren’t working hard enough – rather, it might be that they’re working too hard.

According to leading beauty expert, Melody Yuan, founder of Skin Cupid, many of us are unknowingly stripping our skin’s natural barrier.

“The skin barrier is your skin’s front line of defence against pollutants, UV rays, and other damaging external factors, and when it is compromised, nothing else will work to improve your skin’s condition. A lot of Western skincare regimes focus on using actives like retinol or AHAs to get quick results, but they forget to support the barrier alongside it, which is the foundation of long-term skin health.”

How to know if your skin barrier is damaged?

“There are a few common signs that can indicate that your skin barrier is damaged. The most common signs are dryness or tightness of the skin, redness and inflammation, burning or a tingling sensation when applying products and sudden breakouts. They can come from the overuse of exfoliants, lots of harsh actives in your routine, or even skipping essential hydration and repair steps. The health of your skin barrier is also affected by broader aspects of your lifestyle, so if you smoke, drink, travel frequently, or work a stressful job, those things can also lead to a weaker, more easily compromised skin barrier.”

What do you need to avoid?

Over-exfoliating

“There are some key things that you need to avoid to protect your barrier. Most people think the more you exfoliate, the better it is for your skin. 

This is wrong. Using AHAs, BHAs and scrubs more than two or three times a week can disrupt your microbiome and damage your skin barrier, which allows external irritants to make their way into the dermis and cause issues like inflammation or sensitivity.”

Layering too much

“There are many active ingredients that, when you combine them, can really overwhelm the skin. When you combine ingredients such as retinols with acids, or use too many serums at once – especially if your skin is used to a pared-down routine – it can stress your skin out because you’re giving it too many things to process. Try to stick to one or two main active ingredients in your routine, and if you usually don’t use too much on your skin, make sure to introduce new products slowly, rather than all at once. It’s also important to always do a patch test before you fully commit to a new product, especially if it contains a lot of strong ingredients”. 

Foaming cleansers with a high pH

“While foaming cleansers can feel like a dream on your skin, the ones with high pH can strip your skin’s natural oils and disrupt the skin’s pH balance (which is naturally slightly acidic). To keep skin healthy, look for subacidic cleansers with a pH of around 5.5 – these will match the skin’s natural pH level and ensure its microbiome remains healthy.”

What should you use instead?

“Korean skincare is rooted in protecting and nourishing the skin barrier first – everything else comes second to that. My recommendations on particular types of products to look out for include:

A gentle and low-pH (around 5.5) cleanser that balances skin while also removing impurities without making it dry.

You also want to add in a mild toner – either watery or milky – that will help add hydration and keep the skin barrier supple. 

Alongside this, you want barrier-boosting serums that are packed with healthy ingredients such as ginseng and snail mucin, two ingredients that’ve taken the world by storm the past couple of years for good reason. These ingredients are both highly nourishing and soothing, and will repair and calm the skin.

And finally, nobody should be without a good moisturiser. Look out for ones that are rich in ceramides, an ingredient that helps to reinforce the skin barrier function – this will keep external contaminants out, and moisture in, so your complexion stays looking healthy and irritation-free.”

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