An Easy 3-Step Guide To Building Up Skin Strength & Resilience

So you’re fueling your skin internally—great first step—but you’ll also want to protect your strengthened skin with the right topicals. By this we mean increased barrier support and environmental protections, like antioxidants and SPF.  

In short: The skin barrier is what makes skin strong. “It protects us from mechanical injury, low humidity, cold, heat, sun, wind, chemical exposure, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens,” explains board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D., stating that, “a healthy barrier is critical to normal skin function.” So you must make sure that you’re aiding it with the right products, like natural emollients, lipids, and botanicals that soothe inflammatory processes. A few good topical ingredients to look for are squalane, shea butter, aloe vera, as well as biome-supporting ingredients like pre-, pro-, and post-biotics. 

As for environmental protectants, you should, of course, always protect it from sun damage from mineral sunscreens, like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Then load up on antioxidants here, too, to bolster the free-radical-fighting properties of the skin: Look for serums with vitamins C, E and coenzyme Coq 10.