Over the past few years, skincare trends have transitioned from a reliance on powerful active ingredients like exfoliating acids and retinoids (which we love for impressive results), to a more pared back and minimalistic approach to skincare, which focuses on calming and hydrating skin. The ‘skin barrier‘ has become a beauty buzzword – and for good reason. As an esthetician, I’ve long since preached the importance of a strong and healthy skin barrier, no matter what your skin type.
The protective layer is the body’s first line of defence against external threats like unwanted bacteria and pollution, and also helps to prevent moisture loss and reduce skin sensitivity. A damaged skin barrier can easily lead to sensitive, easily irritated skin that experiences dehydration, dryness, redness, and breakouts. While lots of factors (including your genetics and your environment) can impact the skin barrier, over-exfoliation and over-cleansing skin can also contribute. Chances are, if you’ve been guilty of mixing different acids or using face scrubs on a daily basis, then you may have experienced some of the above concerns…
If redness, sensitivity, and tight, dry skin sound familiar to you, then your skin barrier could probably do with some TLC…. which is where The Ordinary’s Soothing & Barrier Support Serum comes in. Formulated to strengthen and support the skin barrier in both the long term and the short term, the serum not only helps to relieve existing concerns, but also to prevent future issues from occurring.
The soothing fluid texture feels instantly calming and works to target signs of irritation and redness while also instantly boosting skin’s moisture levels. Ingredients such as gallic acid derivatives soothe skin, while vitamin B12 (which gives the serum its bold pink colour) reduces signs of redness. In addition, a ceramide complex helps to strengthen the skin’s natural barrier while niacinamide improves hydration.
I typically find that as temperatures start to drop, my skin’s sensitivity increases. Moving between cooler temperatures outside and dry, air-conditioned environments always does a number on my skin, which is prone to dehydration anyway. In the winter months, I have to really cut back on using active ingredients like exfoliating acids and instead I focus on using moisturising and soothing products that calm and hydrate my skin – so the new serum is a welcome addition to my routine. It fits easily into my daily skincare – I use it both morning and night, before moisturising – and I don’t have to worry about not layering it with certain ingredients. It helps to alleviate any redness or tightness, and gives my skin an overall boost. Plus, it’s so light and fast absorbing that I can easily add a second layer if it feels like my skin needs it.
One of the really great things about this product is that it’s suitable for literally every skin type, since a strong and healthy skin barrier will promote overall skin health, no matter what your skin concerns. Oh, and the pink colour doesn’t leave any residue on skin, so you won’t need to do any additional colour correcting when it comes to your makeup routine.
