What I did immediately after realizing I had a damaged skin barrier

In the previous blog, I let you in on how I knew my skin’s barrier was damaged. If you could relate to that, I’m sure you want to know what I did next. I’m here to tell you all of it – my entire journey of repairing my skin’s barrier!

Ready? Let’s go.

First things first, bye-bye actives

From exfoliating toners to brightening serums – my first course of action was to press pause on all the actives. I understood immediately that the last thing my skin needed at this point were more actives. These would only cause further irritation, when in reality what my skin really needed was a break. And when I tell you this was a test of my patience…

Quit ANY form of exfoliation

Like I said before, the exfoliating toners, the cleansers with acids, the physical exfoliant – all of it had to stop. On healthy skin, exfoliation actually SUPPORTS and PROMOTES a healthy barrier. But on compromised skin, it does nothing except further exacerbate the issues, such as irritation, redness, excessive oil production, flaky skin and even acne.

INSTEAD, I switched for a super-gentle cleanser and used it once a day. I chose a creamy, non-foaming and moisturizing cleanser – something that cleansed by skin but did not interfere with the also fragile oil-moisture balance.

Decluttered my routine

It didn’t me long to realize that the need of the hour was to allow my skin to heal and recover. And during this time, a less is more approach is more than ideal. Trust me, it is SO tempting to try everything under the sun to restore your skin to normalcy but trust the process!

My routine during this time was just THREE products: a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer and sunscreen.

Want to know about the products that saved my skin? Click here!