The Ultimate Guide to Healing a Compromised Skin Barrier

While winter often brings a new meaning to "Dry January" with its harsh toll on our skin, compromised skin barriers can occur year-round. From cranking up the heat indoors during winter to overexposure to sun, chlorine, or outdoor elements in the summer, our skin faces unique challenges in every season. This season is notorious for exacerbating issues with the skin barrier, and it’s crucial to stay ahead of these problems with a methodical approach. When it comes to skincare, there is always a system—a method of operations, if you will. Yet, one of the biggest pitfalls I see is people skipping steps, jumping ahead, and trying to use targeted skincare on skin that simply isn’t ready for it. Building tolerance to skincare products means building support first, and that can be a slow process, especially for compromised skin.

The Science

Let’s break it down. Imagine your skin stings when you apply anything—even water. While this is most common in the winter months, particularly in dry climates, it can occur anywhere and at any time. So many factors contribute to this condition, including the use of aggressive products, hormonal or lifestyle changes, water quality, travel, illness, and the list goes on. What’s happening? The lipids that are vital to the health and hydration of your skin are depleted, leaving your skin defenseless. When this happens, the entire system of defense offered by a healthy skin barrier collapses. Your skin is in a state of crisis, and anything applied to it—even products meant to heal—can cause discomfort. This is because cells that are usually protected are now exposed, and ingredients meant to remain on the surface are penetrating much deeper. Unfortunately, it’s not the beneficial ingredients we want to penetrate, but rather ingredients meant to remain on the surface of the skin are now penetrating into a vulnerable and reactive environment. In this state, the skin views everything as a potential threat.

The Solution

So, what’s the solution when even the gentlest moisturizer stings? The first thing we don’t do is blame the moisturizer or the horse.... ehem, esthetician, it rode in on. It’s not the product’s fault; it’s simply that your skin cannot tolerate that product, right now. Instead, we move into full-blown crisis mode, focusing on restoring and protecting the barrier. This is where slugging becomes invaluable. (Not familiar with slugging? Check out my detailed guide here.) My favorite combination for this scenario is AnteAGE Biogel topped with a thin layer of Vaseline. The Biogel is actually sophisticatedly formulated to support healing specifically without that risk of reactivity or sensitivity. Its key ingredients; glucosyl ceramides, phospholipids, and cholesterol, mimic the skin's natural barrier lipids, helping to restore skin integrity and prevent trans-epidermal water loss. Additional benefits include its anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and antioxidant properties which expedite healing and reduce discomfort. This layering creates an occlusive layer that helps to lock in moisture and give your skin a chance to recover.

But let’s be incredibly clear here, the treatment is not the maintenance cure and slugging is not a cure-all. This is where consistent evaluation and monitoring of your skin come into play. The skin follows a 24-hour cycle where the skin's natural repair mechanisms work overtime while we sleep, making the morning an optimal time to introduce products. However, as the day progresses, the skin’s resilience declines, leaving it more vulnerable to irritation. So after slugging, take time to evaluate your skin in the morning. How does it feel immediately upon waking without anything applied? Now cleanse with a super-basic, no-frills oil cleanser. Yes, water can feel drying, but cleansing is an essential step in your routine and ensuring that cleanser is all lipid protects the skin from the dryness of that water. After cleansing, assess whether your skin can tolerate a bit of actual moisturizer. If not, consider diluting the moisturizer into your occlusive product. 

Throughout the day, check in with your skin. As stated, its health naturally declines as the day progresses, so it’s okay to reapply products as needed. You might find that your skin can’t tolerate moisturizer again at night, and that’s perfectly fine. Recovery is a slow, deliberate process. Eventually, your skin will regain its ability to tolerate moisturizer, and that’s when you can begin adding supportive products to enhance repair. This is the stage where significant results start to happen, but patience is key.

I often like to highlight the parallel between these issues and the way we treat gastrointestinal (GI) issues. When your stomach is in a reactive state, you stick to cautious foods like crackers and rice—items with little to no nutritional value—to avoid further discomfort. This doesn’t mean you should avoid nutrient-dense foods forever. It simply means that your body needs a gradual reintroduction of these foods as it heals. You wouldn’t swear off salads forever because they caused discomfort during a GI flare-up, yet this is exactly what many people do with skincare. They use a product on compromised skin, experience discomfort, and blame the product. Instead of understanding that their skin simply isn’t ready for that product, they swear off effective skincare altogether and often lean into options that provide temporary comfort but worsen the problem in the long run.

I’ve seen it all—from slathering honey and animal fat to using coconut oil or pure Vaseline as a long-term solution. While these options might provide temporary relief, they’re akin to eating saltines for every meal for months. Just as this approach would lead to nutritional deficiencies and other health issues, relying solely on these products can leave your skin barrier weakened and ill-equipped to handle environmental stressors.

The goal is always to rebuild the skin’s tolerance slowly and methodically. Sometimes this means taking a step back before moving forward, and that’s okay. Healing compromised skin requires a commitment to observation, patience, and a willingness to adapt your routine as needed. Trust the process, and over time, your skin will thank you.

Something important to note which is crucial to repair is that a lot of moisturizers on the market can actually contribute to these issues due to the emulsifiers included in them which play their own role in compromising the skin barrier in addition to lacking the lipids needed to support overall skin health. My current favorite moisturizers to use while repairing this type of skin are Roccoco Botanical's Rescue Balm and Hale and Hush's Vital Lipid Lotion.   If acne isn't an issue then then Roccoco's CPR Intense can also help accelerate the process considerably.  Two more products worth mentioning for severely compromised skin:

Roccoco Botanicals CPR (not the intense version) - this product contains cholesterol which is a structural component of the skin barrier.  While studies have shown that ceramide dominant products are best to support a healthy skin barrier, cholesterol dominant products can help significantly to get you to that point.  This is a great product to use in place of your occlusive once the skin can tolerate moisturizer. 

AnteAGE Moisturizer - this product is fantastic when it comes to supporting and maintaining a healthy skin barrier once the skin can tolerate a moisturizer.