Signs of a Damaged Skin Barrier & What to Do About It

Signs of a Damaged Skin Barrier & What to Do About It

by | Jul 9, 2021

Skin Barrier

Wondering why your skin is lacking that beautiful, dewy glow?

A damaged skin barrier could be to blame! Today, we want to talk about how to know if your skin barrier is damaged, what exactly causes it, and tips about skin barrier damage repair using the right products (and ingredients). Read on to learn more about all things skin barriers.

What is the skin barrier?

The skin barrier is the outer most part of your epidermis (skin!) and acts as a wall to protect your skin from damage, bacteria, environmental aggressors and more. Think of it like “brick and mortar”, where your skin cells make up the bricks, and your skin barrier is the mortar.

What is a damaged skin barrier? 

If you’ve researched skin care, you’ve probably read a bit about wanting to avoid damaging your skin barrier. When your skin’s moisture barrier is damaged, the lipid matrix (fats and oils within your skin) isn’t as taut as it should be. This can lead to gaps in your skin barrier. What does that mean? It makes it harder to keep germs and irritants out of your skin—and it also does a bad job of preventing water loss from your skin.

3 Common Damaged Skin Barrier Symptoms 

So what exactly are the telltale signs of a damaged skin barrier? Here are some of the most common symptoms.

Acne

Believe it or not, blemishes can be a sign of a damaged skin barrier. The bacteria that leads to acne can penetrate the skin more easily.

Dry Skin

Your skin experiences trans epidermal water loss when your skin barrier is compromised. In other words, the moisture in your skin essentially exits stage left and evaporates. This leaves your skin with signs of dryness. These can include a rough texture, flakiness or tightness. Dullness is another sign of a compromised moisture barrier, related to dryness.

Skin Sensitivity

An imbalance of lipids in the skin barrier, causing a skin barrier disruption, could lead to sensitive skin.

What causes damage to the skin barrier?

You might be surprised to know that the main causes of damage to the skin barrier come from everyday life and habits. Here are some of the most common culprits.

Over-cleansing

Skincare mistakes like cleansing your skin too much or too often can have an effect on your skin barrier. If you cleanse your skin too often or with harsh ingredients, you can strip your skin of its natural oils. One way to figure out if you may be doing this is if your skin feels squeaky clean—or tight—after your face wash step. This could disrupt your skin barrier’s lipid matrix. You want to avoid washing your skin to the point where it feels tight after.

Skin Conditions

Skin concerns like atopic dermatitis (also known as eczema) can be associated with a weak skin barrier. That keeps your skin barrier from functioning well. Eczema can be a genetic skin condition, and a severely damaged skin barrier can develop if the skin is not treated properly.

Age

Age is also a contributor to skin barrier damage, as your ability to produce oil decreases over time. It becomes more difficult to replenish the oils that are essential to your skin barrier’s integrity.

How to repair skin barrier damage

When you want to repair a damaged skin barrier, there are things you can stop doing and start doing to see and feel relief.

Simplify Your Skincare Routine

Invest in products and ingredients that help support the health of your skin barrier. Ingredients that are good to use for your skin’s moisture barrier include Hyaluronic Acid, Peptides, and Ceramides. Hyaluronic Acid is a molecule that occurs naturally in the skin and can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water. It binds water to collagen to keep it in the skin. Peptides are short chains of amino acids, which act as building blocks of proteins—like collagen, keratin, and elastin. Ceramides are lipids found naturally in the upper layers of skin and help form a protective layer that limits moisture loss.

Protect Your Skin

Besides nourishing your skin, you need to protect it every day. SPF protects your skin from UVA and UVB rays, which directly damage your skin barrier and cause irritation. Choose a sunscreen of at least 30+ to ensure your skin is protected, and use sunscreen every day as the last step in your daily skincare routine. Whether you opt for a chemical or physical sunscreen, the most important thing is that you find one that you’ll use.

Hydrate

Never forget the power of H20! Water works wonders on the skin barrier from the inside out. By drinking your recommended daily water intake and utilizing hydrating formulas directly on the skin’s surface, you give skin a chance to reboot, replenish and regenerate.

Best Products for a Damaged Skin Barrier

You want to go easy on the exfoliation if you have a severely damaged skin barrier. Use serums and creams every morning and night for best results, especially when trying to repair a severely damaged barrier. Use products as directed, and remember to seek advice from your dermatologist when necessary.

Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Skin Barrier

A morning and evening skincare routine with products that include the proper ingredients will help repair skin barrier damage. Maintain your healthy skin barrier by sticking to your routine and adjusting products and ingredients as needed. Use the tips throughout this article to help guide you towards a healthy, strong skin barrier!

 

~Learn more about Rodan + Fields and how you can get your most radiant skin yet. Trust your skin’s glow to the Doctors and your consultant who know how to help you get your skin glowing.

Results may vary depending on multiple factors: age, gender, skin type and condition, concomitant products used, health history, location, lifestyle and diet.

Share this with friends or family members. It will save their skin — and boost their confidence.

PM me for the best options to suit your budget 🙂

*information is taken from The Skincare Source.

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The Best Ingredients For Dark Spots

The Best Ingredients For Dark Spots

by | Apr 6, 2021

Dark Spot Corrector

The Best Ingredients For Dark Spots 

When it comes to common skin concerns, skin discoloration, including dark spots, top the list. Regardless of age! Whether you’d like to address dark spots left in the wake of long-departed acne, age-related spots, or even unwanted freckles from unprotected sun exposure—everyone wants that smooth, glowing, even-toned-looking skin for a youthful appearance.

Many of us are searching for individual ingredients to get rid of or fade our dark spots—but it is important to look into specific products and regimens to get the best results. It’s a holistic skincare strategy for the best possible visible improvement – addressing existing discoloration and working to prevent it in the future. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how to deal with the dark spots you have and some of the best ingredients to help visibly brighten your skin and even out your skin tone.  

Multi-Med Therapy Approach 

Multi-Med Therapy is at the heart of all of Rodan + Fields’ Regimens. Multi-Med Therapy combines over-the-counter drug and cosmetic ingredients as the basis of elegantly formulated products that deliver powerful results. Seeing how well a “combination therapy” approach worked in acne, they knew that our holistic Multi-Med Therapy concept would also be effective for other common skin conditions, like hyperpigmentation, sensitivity, and skin aging.  

Based on their patient relationships, Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields saw how each one of these issues takes a toll on a person’s confidence. This compelled Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields to get to work, creating specific skincare systems, which they refer to as Regimens, to give people everything they would need to address specific skin concerns head-on and achieve the best skin of their lives. 

There Are No Magic Individual Ingredients 

And that’s actually good news. These ingredients can only work in a proper formula—in other words, it’s more about the formula and the routine as opposed to sticking with single ingredients. Find one that works for you and incorporate it into your AM and PM skincare routines consistently for the best results.  

Key Ingredients That Help Fade Dark Spots and Discoloration 

There are a few tried-and-true ingredients that work to tackle dark spots and discoloration that are typically used in brightening formulas. Here, the four main ingredients to look for if addressing dark spots is on your skincare agenda.  

1) Vitamin C  

The first ingredient you tend to see in brightening products is Vitamin C, and for good reason.  

A skincare heavyweight, this ingredient is a potent antioxidant. Vitamin C helps address everything from discoloration (dark spots, age spots, post-acne marks and the like) to texture issues. Vitamin C is excellent when it comes to visibly evening out your skin tone, helping with dullness, and improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. You simply can’t go wrong with incorporating Vitamin C into your skincare routine.  

2) Retinoids 

A form of Vitamin A, Retinoids are some of the most effective anti-aging ingredients. 

Retinoids accelerate natural skin renewal, helping skin boost its natural collagen production and reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles. When it comes to Retinoids, consistency is the name of the game. This ingredient provides impressive visible results, though like with any skincare, they do take time and dedication. This ingredient should not be combined with other actives and when you use Retinoids at night, you should wear sunscreen during the day. Retinoids can make your skin photosensitive.  

For addressing acne, begin a Retinoid skincare routine in your early 20s. For anti-aging benefits, begin incorporating Retinoids into your skincare regimen in your late 20s or early 30s. 

3) Kojic Acid 

Kojic Acid also goes by the Japanese common name, koji. A dark spot-targeting extraordinaire, it is a by-product in the fermentation process of malting rice, for use in the manufacturing of sake, the Japanese rice wine. This ingredient’s primary use and benefit is to reduce discoloration often caused by unprotected sun exposure—age spots, dark spots or even scars. In addition to skin-brightening effects, kojic acid also offers antimicrobial properties. 

4) Licorice root 

Licorice root is a natural, soothing antioxidant used in skincare to help fade dark spots, as well. It’s a great choice for those who want to opt for a more natural skin brightening ingredient.  

Rodan + Fields Reverse Regimen  

We recommend the Rodan + Fields Reverse Regimen and Targeted Dark Spot Corrector to address dull, uneven skin tone. “By exfoliating away the pile up of dead cells and helping visibly fade discolorations, REVERSE clears your skin’s canvas, restoring the luminosity and brightness your skin has naturally lost,” says Dr. Katie Rodan. “Reverse can help visibly achieve that even color and engaging glow, that shine that is very attractive at every age, and that we begin to lose in our 20s,” Dr. Kathy Fields adds.  

To protect your skin against future dark spots, it’s all about prevention.

Learn more about Rodan + Fields Radiant Defense Perfecting Liquid and how you can get your most radiant skin yet. Trust your skin’s glow to the Doctors and your consultant who know how to help you get your skin glowing.

Results may vary depending on multiple factors: age, gender, skin type and condition, concomitant products used, health history, location, lifestyle and diet.

Share this with friends or family members. It will save their skin — and boost their confidence.

PM me for the best options to suit your budget 🙂

*information is taken from The Skincare Source.

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BEAUTY SLEEP IS IN YOUR FUTURE: HOW TO PREP FOR BED

BEAUTY SLEEP IS IN YOUR FUTURE: HOW TO PREP FOR BED

by | Oct 22, 2019

Hey, sleepyhead! Yes, you — we see you’ve been dozing off on the couch, in your clothes, or someplace other than in your bed. Where’s your nightly routine?

What’s that? You don’t have one?

If you research it for even for a minute, you’ll see that a consistent bedtime pattern produces optimal sleep, which can affect pretty much every aspect of your life, including your health. All it takes is a bit of planning. Before you close your eyes, create a snooze-inducing sleep environment and you’ll wake feeling rested every morning, not to mention rested-looking. Take out your bullet journal to track your progress and let’s get cozy!

How to Create a Nighttime Ritual

First things first — avoid caffeine, heavy meals and intense exercise three hours before you go to sleep. While caffeine is obvious, a full tummy and sweat session also stimulate body functions, making it harder to wind down. Herbal tea can be part of any nighttime ritual and enjoying it at approximately the same time every night, your body and mind will start to recognize it as a signal to relax.

We’re all familiar with “endless-scroll syndrome” — that gripping desire to find the non-existent bottom of your Twitter feed or watch just one more episode on Netflix. Phones, laptops, TVs, and tablets all emit blue light that suppresses melatonin, an essential hormone for quality sleep.

Instead, turn off your devices at least an hour before bed, two is even better. All it takes is one provocative news article to rev up your mind. And try sleeping with your phone in another room, just try it! It’s also a reason to use black-out shades to create a dark sleeping environment.

Skincare at Night

Like your mind and body, skin rejuvenates itself during deep sleep. (It’s called beauty sleep for a reason.) If you care about your complexion, stick to your nightly Regimen. If you’re just starting, it looks like this:

  1. Take off your makeup! Sleeping with the day’s grime, including 18-hour old makeup, is just not good for your skin. Try ESSENTIALS Instant Makeup Remover Wipes and ESSENTIALS Complete Eye Makeup Remover to get the gunk off first.
  • Wash your face and follow the rest of your Regimen steps. Using products in the right order is a ritual in and of itself, one that gives skin exactly what it needs so you can see the results you want.
  • Try our bubbling REDEFINE Rejuvenation Mask after your cleanser. It refreshes tired skin while Jojoba beads exfoliate for a radiant, clean feeling. Use up to three nights a week.
  • Any skin type can benefit from Active Hydration Serum, which attracts moisture to hydrate skin. Use between Step 2 and Step 3 of your Regimen (SOOTHE users, apply between Steps 1 and 2). If you have oily or combination skin, try this at night. Those with dry skin can apply it both in the AM and PM.
  • Finally, apply R+F Lash Boost every night for obsession-worthy lashes! Simply glide over your upper lash lines. And remember, less is more!

We strive to make skincare simple. Following your Regimen steps gives structure to a nighttime routine, which can improve sleep. Benefits of deep, rejuvenating rest are substantial. Start sleeping like a pro tonight — and waking up to the best skin of your life every morning.

 

Learn more about Rodan + Fields Radiant Defense Perfecting Liquid and how you can get your most radiant skin yet. Trust your skin’s glow to the Doctors and your consultant who know how to help you get your skin glowing.

Results may vary depending on multiple factors: age, gender, skin type and condition, concomitant products used, health history, location, lifestyle and diet.

Share this with friends or family members. It could save their skin — and boost their confidence.

PM me for the best options to suit your budget 🙂

*information taken from Derm RF.

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Mother’s Day Gift Guide – For All Of The Moms In Your Life

Mother’s Day Gift Guide – For All Of The Moms In Your Life

by | May 4, 2019

May 12 is Mother’s Day — and we’ve got skincare gift ideas to make moms of all kinds feel appreciated and deliciously pampered! Choose a mom and show her some Rodan + Fields love.

Just remember, if a mom is pregnant or nursing she should always check with her doctor before introducing new products to her skincare routine.

Which Mom do you want to get a gift for?

New Mom:

Skincare For New Moms For New Moms 

Moms of babies are really put to the test. A good night’s sleep is hard to come by, and those long nights can wreak havoc on her schedule and her skin.

Give her age-defying products that make the most of her limited sleep time:Applied at bedtime, Intensive Renewing Serum is tough on the visible signs of aging but not on skin. REDEFINE Multi-Function Eye Cream improves the appearance of expression lines and visibly firms the under-eye area. REDEFINE Lip Renewing Serum, with Peptides and Vitamin E, conditions and visibly smooths lips.

P.S. If the New Mom in your life wants to help reduce brown patches known as Pregnancy Mask (melasma), the REVERSE Lightening Regimen could be a most welcome gift! Just have her check in with her doctor if she’s pregnant or nursing to see if it’s the right fit.

WORKING MOM:

Working Moms Working Moms Deserve Great Skincare

All moms work — the only question is, “where?” Whether she’s headed to a board meeting at the office or a conference at her kid’s preschool, she’s got a back-to-back schedule and no time to fuss. Radiant Defense Perfecting Liquid (and its companion, the Radiant Defense Liquid Brush), will have her glowing, polished and perfect in seconds. And once she’s finally done for the day, ESSENTIALS Complete Eye Makeup Remover and Instant Make-Up Remover Wipes whisk everything away so she can get to bed sooner.

MR. MOM:

Soothe His Soul

He is an expert at soothing his kids. But it’s very likely he’s neglecting his skin. If he is fair skinned or has shaving irritation, it’s likely his complexion could use some TLC. Our SOOTHE Regimen relieves dry, irritated patches in a heartbeat, soothing his skin — and his soul.

MOM TO EVERYONE:

Everyone’s Mom

She might not actually be your mother, but she is the wise, nurturing person who makes you feel loved. Pamper her with skincare products she might not buy for herself! Active Hydration Serum has a luxurious feel and makes an instant difference, transforming dry skin into hydrated, younger-looking, younger-acting skin. Active Hydration Bright Eye Complex targets thin, fragile skin around the eyes to diminish the look of dark circles and puffiness. Or, surprise her with Lash Boost. Who doesn’t want the appearance of longer, darker, fuller lashes?

So, give her Life-changing Skincare for Mother’s Day! You can’t go wrong when you do it right with Rodan + Fields.

Learn more about Rodan + Fields  and how you can get your most radiant skin yet. Trust your skin’s glow to the Doctors and your consultant who know how to help you get your skin glowing.

Results may vary depending on multiple factors: age, gender, skin type and condition, concomitant products used, health history, location, lifestyle, and diet.

Share this with friends or family members. It could save their skin — and boost their confidence.

PM me for the best options to suit your budget 🙂

*information taken from Derm RF.

Send Me a Message

Do You Have ‘Tech Neck’? Tips For Sagging Skin

Do You Have ‘Tech Neck’? Tips For Sagging Skin

by | Apr 9, 2019

If you’re like most of us, you’re spending more and more time each day — about four hours or more, according to a recent study — hunched over your smartphone, tablet or computer. You may also have the telltale signs of Tech Neck: pain, discomfort and poor posture. (You know the look: rounded back, shoulders caving inward, head pitched forward at an unnatural angle.) But you may not realize that your extensive screen time is also having a seriously aging effect on your neck.

Neck skin is thinner than the skin on your face, with fewer sebaceous glands and less collagen, so it’s naturally more prone to wrinkles and sagging. Though sun exposure is the primary cause of aging neck skin, repeatedly tilting your head down to stare at a screen can speed up the process by exacerbating the development of horizontal lines, says Rodan + Fields product-expert-in-residence Mary Radford, RN.

So what can you do about this extra-unfortunate side effect of tech use? Here are some tips:

PREVENTION

Put down your phone

Giving it up completely is unlikely, but try dialing it back a bit. Many devices now track your usage so you can tell exactly how much screen time you’re racking up and can adjust accordingly. Take frequent breaks from your screen(s), and exercise regularly. Gentle stretches for your back, neck and shoulders will help, too.

Pay attention to posture  

Instead of gazing down at your phone or tablet, bring it up to your face. Invest in a stand that elevates your computer to a height that keeps your head above your shoulders and your chin parallel to the ground. You can also practice good posture at your desk by placing a tennis ball between your shoulder blades and sitting back into your chair. If the ball rolls down, you’re slumping, which suggests your head is dropping and your neck is wrinkling, too.

TREATMENT

Don’t neglect your neck

People tend to pamper their face but stop at the chin. Mary recommends using the Rodan + Fields REDEFINE Regimen to minimize the appearance of fine lines, visible pores and loss of firmness on your neck (as well as your face), and layering in Rodan + Fields  ENHANCEMENTS Active Hydration Serum for extra hydration. She’d combine that with the Rodan + Fields AMP MD Derma-Roller; its micro-exfoliating tips help enhance the penetration and effectiveness of your skincare Regimen and will leave the skin on your neck visibly firmer over time. “Start slowly,” she cautions. “One or two rolls, once or twice a week — since the neck area can be extra-sensitive.”

Slather on the SPF

You’ve heard it before: Sunscreen is a critical step in any skincare routine, and that goes for the skin on your neck, too. Mary recommends applying sunscreen every morning before leaving home and re-applying it every two hours if you’re outdoors, swimming or sweating.

Learn more about Rodan + Fields  and how you can get your most radiant skin yet. Trust your skin’s glow to the Doctors and your consultant who know how to help you get your skin glowing.

Results may vary depending on multiple factors: age, gender, skin type and condition, concomitant products used, health history, location, lifestyle and diet.

Visit www.debi.myrandf.com

Share this with friends or family members. It could save their skin — and and boost their confidence.

Send me a message for the best options to suit your budget 🙂

*information taken from Derm RF.

Send Me a Message