You may have been told you have oily, dry, or sensitive skin, but deep down you know there is more to the story because your skin is constantly changing. Much of the natural changes in your skin have to do with the skin barrierand how it responds to aging, the environment, stress, and other factors. Today’s article will explore these changes and how to restore skin barrierhealth. We’ll cover:
- How to know your skin type and why it’s not fixed
- What is the skin barrier? And what is a damaged skin barrier?
- Damaged skin barrier signs
- Why your skin changes and what that has to do with a broken skin barrier
- How to support your skin barrier naturally
- Seasonal skincare and other tweaks for barrier health
- FAQs
Your Skin Type Isn’t Fixed
Dermatologists categorize skin types into five categories: dry, oily, combination, sensitive, and normal. These types reflect your skin’s general tendency and are largely determined by genetics. However, your skin type isn’t the whole story: it’s not fixed; it’s dynamic.
Your skin responds to the environment: the weather, season, climate, stress, travel, nutrition, and so many other factors. One could argue that the environment has an even greater influence on your day-to-day skin health than your predetermined type because it affects the skin barrier.
What “Skin Barrier” Actually Means
Your skin barrier is the outermost layer of your skin and what protects you from the outside environment. It’s quite literally the integrity of your skin barrier that determines many of the day-to-day changes your skin can experience. A strong barrier provides more protection, hydration, and balance. Whereas a damaged skin barriercan negatively affect skin health and appearance.
Thinking about barrier health is core to our work at SVEDA and the future of natural skincare. The skin barrier needs ingredients it recognizes and that easily absorb and integrate into the skin, strengthening the barrier rather than stripping it. One of the most effective ingredients for barrier health is grass-fed beef tallow, which closely mirrors the fatty acid building blocks of the skin barrier.
Signs Your Skin Barrier Needs Support
When you think your skin type is to blame for skin issues, consider that you may actually need barrier support. Signs of a damaged skin barrier can look a lot like the descriptions of skin types.
Broken skin barrier signs:
- Tightness
- Flakiness
- Redness
- Dryness
- Dehydration
- Roughness
- Inflammation
- Irritation
- Sensitivity
Supporting the skin barrier is actionable with the right skincare. Look for products that offer comfort and feel as a sure sign your skin barrier is getting what it needs. Grass-fed beef tallow, jojoba oil, elderberry, vitamin E, and essential oils are natural ingredients that support the skin’s protective barrier, reduce water loss, and support all skin types.
Why Your Skin Changes with Seasons, Stress, and Hormones
Your skin responds to its environment, which includes the seasons, stress, and hormones.
The climate you live in and the time of year produce different temperatures, humidity levels, and UV exposure levels. They even determine how much time you spend indoors with heat or air conditioning that can lower humidity levels. These factors affect the skin barrier, oil production, and hydration. It’s totally normal if your skin feels drier in the winter and oilier in the summer.
Stress can include emotional stress. If you’ve ever had more sensitive or reactive skin during times of high stress, you’ve seen this connection firsthand. Stress can also include factors that stress the skin, such as UV radiation, pollution, dehydration, and nutrient deficiencies.
Hormones help regulate oil production, skin turnover, collagen levels, inflammation, and the skin’s ability to regenerate and repair. Changes in hormones often show up as changes in the skin. It’s not your skin type, but the skin’s response to the hormonal environment.
Understanding why your skin changes can help you understand how to heal the skin barrier. For example, antioxidants, such as elderberry and vitamin E, help shield the skin from environmental stressors.
How to Support Your Skin Barrier Naturally
Supporting your skin barrier naturally can be as simple as using SVEDA’s Whipped Tallow Balm. It's compatible with all skin types and helps your skin feel comfortable and balanced as conditions change.
Let’s look at the barrier-supportive ingredients:
- Grass-fed beef tallow – Provides building blocks for skin barrier strength and repair
- Jojoba oil – Keeps skin hydrated and prevents water loss through the barrier
- Beeswax – Protects and nourishes the skin barrier
- Elderberry extract – Antioxidant protection against environmental stressors
- Vitamin E – Antioxidant protection and skin barrier repair
- Vanilla oil – Antioxidant and skin soothing
SVEDA products contain 100% natural ingredients your skin recognizes and responds to. Try SVEDA’s Tallow Balm Stick for barrier care on-the-go and SVEDA’s Tallow Lip Balm for lip barrier support.
What to Keep, Tweak, or Change in Your Routine
Small swaps can lead to big changes in skin health, starting with ourwhipped balm as a daily moisturizer and barrier support.
Here are some additional tips:
- Pay attention to your skin and notice the changes
- Adjust your skincare routine seasonally, during stressful periods, or times of hormonal change
- Stay consistent with your daily foundations that include good nutrition, lifestyle habits, and natural skincare
- Choose biocompatible ingredients, as you’ll find with SVEDA
- Keep it simple – with high-quality, skin-loving ingredients, less is often more
It’s time to take the skincare conversation beyond skin type and focus on the aspects of skin health within your control. It starts with skin barrier support.
FAQs
How do I know my skin type?
Your skin type is largely determined by sebum (oil) production and falls into one of five categories: oily, combination, normal, dry, or sensitive. Your skin type isn’t the whole conversation; skin naturally changes along with the environment.
What is a damaged skin barrier?
The skin barrier is the outermost layer of skin that protects the skin from environmental stress and moisture loss. A damaged barrier affects overall skin health and function, leading to dryness and further damage.
What are the signs of a damaged skin barrier?
The signs of a damaged skin barrier may include dryness, irritation, redness, sensitivity, flaking, tightness, and roughness.
Can your skin barrier repair itself?
Yes, your skin can repair and regenerate when it has the resources to do so, including fatty acids like you find in beef tallow.
How can I support my skin barrier naturally?
Support your skin barrier naturally with biocompatible ingredients, including grass-fed beef tallow, that nourish and strengthen the skin barrier.
Why does my skin change with the seasons, stress, or hormones?
Your skin barrier is dynamic and responds in real time to the environment, which includes the seasons, stress exposure, and hormonal changes.
References
- Rosso, J. D., Zeichner, J., Alexis, A., Cohen, D., & Berson, D. (2016). Understanding the Epidermal Barrier in Healthy and Compromised Skin: Clinically Relevant Information for the Dermatology Practitioner: Proceedings of an Expert Panel Roundtable Meeting.The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 9(4 Suppl 1), S2–S8.
- Russell, M. F., Sandhu, M., Vail, M., Haran, C., Batool, U., & Leo, J. (2024). Tallow, Rendered Animal Fat, and Its Biocompatibility With Skin: A Scoping Review.Cureus, 16(5), e60981.