Transepidermal Water Loss

TEWL is the amount of water vapor evaporating from the surface of the skin. In healthy skin, TEWL is directly proportional to skin hydration. Many skin diseases have inverse ratios of TEWL and skin hydration (i.e., increased TEWL with decreased skin hydration, as is seen in atopic dermatitis and disorders of keratinization.) The barrier function of the skin has been compared to a wall made up of bricks and mortar. The keratinised cells of the stratum corneum are the “bricks” and the intracellular lipids are the “mortar.”

Why does my skin get tight, dry and sensitive

If your skin feels dry, tight and irritated, there is one underlying cause to all of this. Your skin’s protective moisture barrier is damaged, and simply layering on a rich moisturizer isn’t going to fix it. Chances are, you are doing something day in and day out that is causing your skin to get damaged, and the moment you take out the culprit, your skin’s barrier can naturally repair itself.

In this post, I’ll explain what exactly your skin barrier is, what might be causing it to get damaged, and some easy ways to fix it so you can get back to having moist, supple and healthy-looking skin with less tightness, dryness, and sensitivity.

What is a moisture barrier in the skin

Effects of a impaired barrier in the skin

When the skin’s protective barrier gets damaged, it creates small, invisible cracks in the skin. Through these cracks, moisture can easily escape and irritants can enter more easily. Essentially, your skin loses its protective bodyguard and can get tight, dry and sensitive.

What happens if my moisture barrier is damaged?

As a skin therapist with 35 years of hands-on experience working with clients and their skincare concerns, now more than ever, I’m seeing that almost every skin problem can be traced back to an impaired skin barrier. Not a day goes by that I’m not giving a diagnosis of a damaged moisture barrier as the underlying cause of someone’s skin issues.

Symptoms of an impaired moisture barrier include:

• Redness
• Rosacea
• Flakiness
• Peeling
• Dryness (from lack of oil)
• Dehydration (from lack of water). 
• Tightness (dehydration from lack of water)
• Skin feels sensitive and gets easily irritated
• Itchiness
• Rough skin to the touch
• Stinging or burning sensation when products are applied
• Crepiness and fine lines
• Skin rashes like eczema (atopic dermatitis)
• Increased breakouts

If you have any or all of these symptoms, no matter what your age, this might be a sign that your moisture barrier has been compromised and is in desperate need of fixing.

Note: Sometimes a damaged moisture barrier can just appear on the nose and cause this area to get dry and flaky. 

Symptoms of an impaired moisture barrier include:

• Redness
• Rosacea
• Flakiness
• Peeling
• Dryness (from lack of oil)
• Dehydration (from lack of water). 
• Tightness (dehydration from lack of water)
• Skin feels sensitive and gets easily irritated
• Itchiness
• Rough skin to the touch
• Stinging or burning sensation when products are applied
• Crepiness and fine lines
• Skin rashes like eczema (atopic dermatitis)
• Increased breakouts

If you have any or all of these symptoms, no matter what your age, this might be a sign that your moisture barrier has been compromised and is in desperate need of fixing.

Note: Sometimes a damaged moisture barrier can just appear on the nose and cause this area to get dry and flaky. 

If you’re someone who has just been overdoing it with too many exfoliating products for a short period of time, you haven’t done permanent damage and it can easily be fixed. However, for those with years and years of using harsh products and exfoliating too often along with excessive smoking, alcohol consumption and unprotected sun exposure, yes, some damage has occurred. The good news is that it’s never too late to get the skin back into a healthy place, and if you’re making positive changes, you will most definitely see a big improvement. 

What causes a moisture barrier to be damages?

• Exfoliating too often (this is the #1 culprit of a damaged barrier that I see all too often)
• Overly-drying, harsh cleansing products (bar soaps and high-foaming gel cleansers)
• Topical prescription acne medications
• Alcohol-based toners
• Not keeping the skin protected from the sun
• Daily use of acidic ingredients like ascorbic acid and L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
• High concentrations of citrus essential oils
• High concentrations of any essential oils
• Prescription retinoids
• Washing the face with water that’s too hot
• Drinking alcohol
• Smoking
• Synthetic fragrances used in skincare products
• Dry climate (low humidity and lack of moisture in the air, such as in the winter)
• Long airplane flights (generally anything over 5 hours)
• Chemical peels (when performed too often)
• Air conditioners
• Home skin devices like a micro-needling derma rollers 
• Skipping the use of moisturizer
• Allergic reactions to skin care products
• Medications that have dryness as a side effect (such as antihistamines)
• Genetics (Some skin types will naturally be prone to a weaker barrier)
• Aging (the barrier starts to get more vulnerable after the age of 45)

• Treat your skin like you would a baby’s skin.If you know your skin is acting unusually sensitive or just not feeling healthy, a good mindset to have when fixing a moisture barrier to lessen tight, dry and sensitive skin, is to treat your skin like you would a baby’s skin. This means keeping everything really simple and gentle until it gets repaired. Here are some ways to do that.
• Cut back on your exfoliation.With the increase in popularity of products intended to remove surface dead skin cell build-up, many people are using exfoliating products on a daily basis. It’s important to know that this is one of the BIGGEST contributors to damaging your skin and barrier. When you exfoliate too often, you’re stripping off your skin’s protective barrier which guarantees that moisture will escape. This will set off an inflammation cascade which not only leads to the skin feeling tight and dry, but will also contribute to your skin aging faster. Not good!Common exfoliants include:
  • Sonic cleansing brushes (Yes, brushes like a Clarisonic are considered to be exfoliants. 
  • Acid-based serums, creams, peels, pads and liquid toners containing ingredients such as glycolic, lactic, salicylic, malic, mandelic and polyhydroxy acids
  • Enzyme-based masks and peels
  • Facial scrubs
  • Washcloths (I always suggest using a baby washcloth instead of a regular one as it’s gentler)
• When you are trying to fix your barrier to get it back to a healthy place, I recommend stopping all of your exfoliating products for two weeks and then slowly work back into them once the skin feels repaired. When you do introduce them back into your routine, they should not be used daily, but instead, four to five times a week depending on your skin type. If you are using a prescription retinoid, this will always be breaking down your skin’s barrier due to the nature of how the product works. While I don’t suggest that anyone go off of it, mainly because it’s so amazing in getting the skin to look and act younger, I do have some great recommendations for the best way to use it to lessen the dryness. Note: A lot of people don’t exfoliate at all around the eyes and you really should be. Avoid washing your skin with hot water and avoid cleansing with soap.

  When the water temperature is turned up too high, it will instantly dilate the capillaries and raise the skin’s internal temperature. When this heat has been created, it can impair your skin’s barrier. It’s best to use lukewarm water—especially in the winter when the barrier is most fragile.

  Wear sunscreen.

  Sunscreen is known as the ultimate product for defending your skin from the worst environmental damager—the sun. UV rays given off by the sun will certainly contribute to damaging your barrier. Daily Protection SPF 30 is the one I use and recommend to my clients.

  Use a gentle cleanser to wash your face.

  Not a day goes by that I’m not explaining how important it is to wash with a gentle cleanser—especially if your skin is feeling tight, dry and irritated. When fixing a damaged moisture barrier, you’ll want to change from a foaming cleanser (even if it’s gentle and sulfate-free) to a cleansing lotion as it’s milder. Recommended cleanser: Vitamin-Infused Cleansing Emulsion. 

  Avoid skincare products that are highly fragranced and use synthetic fragrances.

  With all the awareness about synthetic perfumes causing unnecessary irritation, it still amazes me that companies continue to use them.

  AVOID these scented ingredients, especially when fixing your barrier:

  • Perfume
  • Parfum
  • Fragrance
  • Menthol
  • Camphor
  • Peppermint essential oil
  • Spearmint essential oil
  • Eucalyptus essential oil

  Note: Speaking of essential oils, high amounts of any type of natural essential oil can be irritating to the skin. I do use essential oils in many of my skincare products but in low percentages. Sometimes they are used to deliver a certain benefit and other times it’s simply to mask another ingredient that doesn’t smell very pleasant.

  The general rule of thumb is to smell the product and if the scent is very strong, this might (but not always) be a sign that it could be irritating to your skin—especially when the product is being left on the skin versus rinsed off. (A leave-on product would be a moisturizer, toner, and serum and a rinse-off product would be a mask or cleanser.)

How long does it take to fix a  skin barrier?

To get your skin back to a place where it is feeling less tight, dry and sensitive, it’s so important that you follow my expert advice. If you’re eliminating the things that are causing your skin to act sensitive, and you’re investing in the right products to correct your skin’s appearance, you should be able to get it fixed in two to four weeks. For some people, it may even be quicker. The skin is truly incredible in that Mother Nature is always working overtime to try and fix whatever stressors come its way. The key is, you always want to work with Mother Nature and never go against her. (Well, there is an exception. It is beneficial to occasionally create micro-injuries in the skin to encourage the skin to act in a younger way. After all, the natural repair processes do slow down with age, so little boosts are helpful and this can be done with chemical peels. In conclusion…

With all of that being said (and I know it was a lot!), there have been many incredible advancements in skincare in the last twenty years and there really is no reason why anyone should be suffering from tight, dry and irritated skin in this day and age. It’s truly an easy fix and if you use the right combination of products for your skin type, it shouldn’t revert back to an unhealthy state. You need to be very mindful of not overdoing it because I am here to tell you, a lot of the time, you have complete control over how your skin acts.

I hope you found this post helpful and that your skin will soon get back to looking smoother, calmer and beautifully hydrated. The way Mother Nature intended. 

Internal solution fix a  skin barrier?

1. Diet rich in amino fatty acids – avocado, nuts, beans, dairy, olive oil, leafy greens, oily fish.
2. Supplementation – Omega 3 fatty acids 3000-6000mg