Here's a statistic to make you stop scrolling: the hashtag #Skinbarrier has 5 BILLION views on TikTok.
This “trend” is here to stay it seems. So we’ve added Flawless Moisturiser Intense to the family - and this is not your average moisturiser.
Now, this was a product I felt I needed to create.
I’ve watched the trends of flooding and slugging come and go. But I felt there had to be a better way to help patients and customers fix their barrier, by getting to the root cause. Plus, I felt it had to be possible to repair your skin barrier with a cosmetically elegant formula, rather than the traditional very functional formulas which were thick and gloopy, and caused breakouts, wrecked your pillowcases and your blowdry.
But first things first - how do you know if your barrier is damaged?
Let’s look at the spectrum:
With mild skin barrier damage, there may be nothing visible on the surface. Skin may well feel tight after cleansing and products might sting on application.
When it’s more severe, the features are usually visible on the skin - redness, dry or flaky patches and new breakouts in odd places may all feature. Skin tends to itch and “everything burns”.
Now, a delicate skin barrier might be your norm if you suffer with eczema or rosacea. But it can happen to any of us, usually as a consequence of overdoing skincare at a time when we’re stressed, doing longhaul travel or not sleeping well.
The Science Behind A Damaged Skin Barrier
When your barrier is disrupted, it refers to damage to the outermost bit of your epidermis (which is the layer on the outside interfacing with the environment sitting on top of the dermis, where the collagen lives). This is the stratum corneum.
Your epidermis’s main job is to create a very special layer of keratin embedded within a wall of lipids that keeps the good stuff in, like water and the bad stuff, like irritants, pollution and UV, out.
When we overdo things - too many actives, too much cleansing, a tricky environment - this layer gets breached and everything goes wrong. Things penetrate underneath that shouldn’t, and we end up in a nasty vicious cycle as this of course makes things worse.
Now the amazing thing about your skin is it knows how to repair itself. But it gets harder as we age. Repair takes energy. And a critical energy molecule called NAD+ starts to tank, affecting our cell batteries. Levels are at 50% or less once we hit 40. Up until now we haven’t been able to address this with skincare. But things are about to change.
Traditionally we applied a layer of occlusive ingredients, like mineral oil, on the surface to protect the skin, whilst it struggled to repair the damage. This is what I call outside-in repair.
But with Flawless Moisturiser Intense, for the first time we can start to repair from the inside-out. Using a breakthrough ingredient called Sunflower Shoot Extract (SSE) we can address that struggling battery and help recharge it, boosting levels of NAD+.
I've combined this into a triple action barrier repair product that also helps reduce water loss on the surface with ectoin, squalane, ceramides and glycerin. In fact, its clinically proven to support barrier repair from the first application.
And we’re targeting the microbiome as well, to bolster skin’s defences as it repairs.
When should I use Flawless Moisturiser Intense?
This is the perfect product to support barrier repair after summer - make it the cornerstone of your transitional skincare kit. Remember to press pause on actives while you’re doing this.
I’ve formulated Flawless Moisturiser Intense to be lightweight and elegant, rather than gloopy or oily. It won’t clog pores so it's ideal for you acne-prone sensitive types. It’s perfect for daily use morning and night, and is brilliant under make-up - no need to save it just for rescue missions. Combine it with Flawless Cleanser and your Flawless SPF of choice for an easy peasy solution to that damaged skin barrier.
In fact 98% of our consumer testing group said it made skin feel more hydrated and soothed after just 1 week’s use.
What I’m especially excited about is how easy it makes using a retinoid. It's the perfect way to prep your skin on your first actives journey, especially if it's sensitive and if you’re starting a retinoid for the very first time.
And as for seasoned retinoids users like me? With Flawless Moisturiser Intense in my routine, I know my skin has the right resources to make the most of its many, many benefits.
