Your skin barrier is your silent protector, constantly defending you from pollution, environmental aggressors, harmful bacteria and even dehydration. Imagine a brick wall where the bricks are our skin cells and the mortar is our lipids. If there is not enough mortar, or it is damaged, then water can escape and aggressors can get in, wreaking all sorts of havoc on your skin.
BUT: many of us unknowingly damage our skin’s natural defence every day. When your skin barrier is compromised, it can lead to dryness, irritation, eczema, breakouts and even speed up the aging process. The good news? With the right care and natural ingredients, you can rebuild, strengthen and preserve this vital skin-shield.
Ready to uncover the top 5 habits that could be sabotaging your skin barrier and how to protect it? Let’s dive in!
Top 5 Everyday Habits That Damage your Skin Barrier
1. Your cleansing routine
Let’s start at the beginning - cleansing your face effectively is essential but it’s so easy to get wrong. Common pitfalls include using water that is too hot, being overzealous and over scrubbing at your skin, cleansing too frequently, not spending long enough on this important step, drying abrasively with a rough towel and not washing your towels and face cloths frequently enough.
A cleanser must respect and not strip your skin barrier or disrupt the microbiome. Harsh, mainstream cleansers, make up wipes and micellar waters contain surfactants, preservatives and synthetics that remain on your skin after cleansing and disrupt the delicate balance of your skin, leaving it feeling tight, dry and irritated; eating away at the acid mantle film that protects your skin and keeps it strong and healthy.
How to fix it: choose a gentle cleanser, such as a balm, gel or oil, with natural ingredients, that will gently melt away make-up, impurities that build up on the skin during the day, whilst nourishing your skin.
Our gentle cleansing balms with raw honey and beeswax, offer a slight acidity, respecting the pH of the skin’s acid mantle, are packet full of skin nourishing plant oils, melt away make up and day to day build up without the need to tug and drag at your skin and do not contain any synthetic scents, SLS or irritating ingredients.
Opt for lukewarm water for cleansing your face, go gently and take longer, rather than rushing and rubbing - SPF, make up and daily dirt and grim take time to melt away properly so give it an extra few minutes to make the most out of the most important part of your daily routine. Cleanse your face twice a day maximum, use a soft flannel or muslin and pat dry with a soft towel, leaving skin damp to better receive your follow up skincare.
Top tip: protect your facial skin from the hotter water you use in the bath and shower by applying a layer of your cleansing balm to your face and leaving on until you have finished bathing and then rinsing off. Not only will it protect your skin but will also act as a delicious mask for an extra fresh and glowing complexion.
2. Not protecting your skin well enough & consistently
Your skin barrier has to constantly withstand everything launched at it from the outside and the inside – pollution, wind, rain, sun, your stress levels, your diet, free radicals, lack of sleep, temperature fluctuations, humidity, alcohol consumption, skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema and psoriasis, hormone fluctuations….the list goes on. So, it's no surprise your skin needs a helping hand to protect it adequately.
Not wearing a SPF daily is very detrimental for the skin, but still a common mistake. It has been proven over and over that UV exposure is one of the biggest culprits of skin barrier damage and the cause of 80% of our skin’s ageing. Without proper protection, the sun’s harmful rays break down your skin’s defences, attacking collagen, leading to premature ageing, dark spots and a weakened barrier and that’s before considering the cancer risk!
If your barrier is weakened, then the bricks and mortar start to fail, so to help you need to be fostering a skincare routine that is packed with skin barrier protecting ingredients and be sure to use them consistently – just a face cream or a serum may not be cutting it on their own and it may be time to call in some extra skin barrier reinforcement superheroes.
If you feel your skin barrier is improving or you have always had a resilient barrier with no skin challenges, then beware of becoming complacent - a big mistake often made is not being consistent and thorough enough in protecting and maintaining the skin barrier with the right skincare in order to avoid possible future skin issues. Looking after your skin barrier is an everyday must.
How to fix it: consistently incorporate the three categories of ingredients for skin barrier health – humectants, emollients and occlusives - into your daily skincare routine. We wanted to make this as easy, straightforward and effective as possible, which is why we created our full natural raw honey skincare starter kits and bundles.
For full barrier support use your cleansing balm for a gentle cleanse, your humectant glycerine rich face spritz for hydration, next apply your emollient face oil to feed your skin and offer antioxidant protection, and then follow with your beeswax and raw honey occlusive face cream to deliver further hydration and moisture and for a protective breathable shield for your skin.
To give your skin extra protection, apply a beeswax barrier balm – if you still feel your skin is sore, dry or red or pigmentated after your full routine then adding a beeswax barrier balm will be a game changer. This is especially effective if you have an impaired barrier from rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, wounds, scars or burns or are just lacking a nourished glow. A beeswax barrier balm with raw honey and bee propolis will accelerate skin healing and feed your skin as nature intended leaving you with dewy, soothed, bright skin with improved texture.
Choose from Nurse Bee Balm with gentle, soothing essential oils of lavender and mandarin or choose our fragrance, essential oil free Sensitive Bee Balm suited to all areas of skin including face.
To further defend your skin barrier be sure to wear a natural SPF daily as the last step in your routine.
Top tip: a beeswax barrier balm also works a dream for a sophisticated (not a trace of petroleum in sight!) ‘slugging’ of your face overnight – give it a try by applying a thin layer all over your face and you’ll wake up to plumped, nourished, calmed, glossy skin.
3. Not hydrating your Skin adequately
Hydration is the critical 'support act' for effective barrier repair and maintenance – and by this we mean getting water content into your skin externally and internally.
Why? It’s all very well ‘sealing and protecting’ your skin barrier with your cream or beeswax balm but if there is a lack of moisture in your skin, due to its damaged barrier, there will likely not be adequate hydration to seal in, therefore repair of a damaged barrier will be slower or an intact barrier may become weaker.
Lack of hydration will show itself as flakiness, dryness, increased sensitivity, premature ageing, breakouts and infections, dull and uneven texture and increased trans epidermal water loss.
How to fix it: opt for deep, long-lasting hydration provided by humectants such as glycerine or hyaluronic acid, which play a crucial role in restoring and maintaining skin health and can hugely support barrier repair and preservation. So, before you moisturise with your oil and/or cream and ‘seal’ your skin with your beeswax barrier balm, ensure that you liberally spritz your skin with one of our hydrating face mists, or if you don't have one to hand, dampen your skin with water. Also make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids daily to hydrate from the inside.
Also, what makes our products so effective for skin barrier repair is our raw honey. Read below for more about the magical moisture drawing and locking in properties of this wonderous ingredient which ramps up moisture levels in the outer skin layer.
Top tip: layer in hydration by using your face spritz in between each ‘sealing layer.’ So apply liberally to face, neck and décolleté before your serum/oil, then again after, before your cream layer and then again before your balm layer. You can also top up your skin’s hydration through the day by applying your mist on the go and resealing with your mini beeswax balm.
4. Using harsh ingredients, acids and 'anti-ageing' actives
We have been programmed to fear ageing, that it is something to be ‘corrected’ and to be ‘reversed’ simply because that is the narrative we’ve been fed by society, whereas ageing is something we should be proud of and embrace – we can plump, smooth and nourish our skin but we cannot 'look ten years younger' or ‘reverse the clock’ through skincare – despite what clever marketing is telling us.
What we can do though is get better skin, whatever our age, thanks to the brightening, hydrating and nourishing power of natural ingredients – think that trending 12 step routine with the latest retinoids and acids is what your skin needs? It isn’t. In fact, its very likely that harsh ‘anti-ageing’ actives are destroying your skin barrier and leading to irritation, stressed and weakened skin.
How to fix it: we know we say this a lot, but it is something we have experienced first hand, as have our customers, so cannot recommend enough paring things right back, ditching the strong acids and retinoids and choosing a natural skincare routine that delivers hydration, natural skin food, moisturisation and protection – that is all your skin really needs for a flourishing microbiome and resilient skin barrier.
Top tip: look for ingredients in your products that naturally plump, smooth and brighten skin such as raw honey, glycerine, shea butter and aloe vera. Switch to natural acids such as PHAs found in raw honey and fruit enzymes and to nature's very own retinols such as bakuchiol and rosehip oil.
5. Not getting down & dirty!
Our gut microbiome plays such a pivotal role in our skin health. In short, the gut microbiome is essential for maintaining a balanced immune system, reducing inflammation, supporting detoxification, regulating hormones, and ensuring proper nutrient absorption—all of which are vital for healthy, clear, and resilient skin.
As well as following a gut friendly diet there's a more holistic overview coming to the forefront of studies – managing stress, getting out in nature and getting our hands dirty has been proven to be a great way of boosting our gut, and in turn, our skin health.
Yes, being 'too clean' and 'sterile' is actually detrimental to your gut and skin microbiome. Interacting with others, kissing, hugging, and getting stuck into nature are great ways of boosting your microbes and exchanging friendly bacteria to benefit your gut and skin health.
In a study, adult participants rubbed their hands in soil 3 times a day and within a couple of weeks this had increased and improved their range of healthy skin microbes, having had a knock on effect on their gut microbiome and skin health.
Similarly, exposing children to animals, dirt and the natural world is essential for the development of their gut and skin health; by not doing so we limit the diversity of microbes that live on their skin which can effect the development of their immune system and increase their risk of developing inflammatory skin disorders such as eczema and psoriasis.
In a recent study exposing children to the natural environment where they played with leaves and in the soil was found to lower their anger and stress levels, increase their gut serotonin levels and increase their abundance of gut and skin microbes.
How to fix it: eat a gut friendly, varied diet, try to manage stress, get outdoors in nature or in the garden, hands and bare feet in the soil and regularly interact with others to boost your skin's vitality.
Top tip: pets can boost both gut and skin microbiomes by introducing us to a variety of beneficial bacteria so give your pet a hug to help your skin! As if you needed another excuse….
Why raw honey & beeswax?
Both raw honey and beeswax are powerhouse ingredients that work harmoniously to strengthen, heal and protect your skin’s barrier and keep the microbiome intact.
Here's why raw honey helps our skin barrier:
Moisture retention: raw honey has the ability to attract and retain moisture and keep the skin hydrated.
Healing and protection: raw honey contains enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide, giving it potent antibacterial properties, preventing infections.
Soothing irritation: raw honey is known for its anti-inflammatory effects, which can reduce redness, swelling, and irritation in the skin, soothing conditions like eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis.
Fights free radicals: raw honey is packed with antioxidants which support the skin’s repair processes.
Skin nourishment: raw honey is full of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that nourish the skin and support skin cell regeneration and repair
Gentle exfoliation: raw honey's natural enzymes help to remove dead skin cells and promote cell turnover for a strong and intact barrier.
PH balancing: raw honey has a slightly acidic pH close to the natural pH of the skin so helps to maintain the skin’s acid mantle that protects against pathogens and helps retain moisture.
Accelerated repair: raw honey has the ability to promote tissue regeneration and reduce the formation of scars, a real Queen Bee of skin barrier repair!
And then of course we pair our Welsh raw honey with pure beeswax in our range: this natural wax forms a protective layer on the skin, locking in moisture without clogging pores. It helps prevent environmental toxins and irritants from entering your skin, while still allowing it to breathe, is sensitive skin friendly and leaves your skin naturally plumped and glowing.
Ready to let nature work its magic?
Our range of raw honey and beeswax skincare products are specifically formulated to protect, nourish, restore and maintain your skin’s natural barrier. By incorporating these into your routine, you can break free from harmful skin-habits easily, without fuss, whilst being kind to nature and the planet, to give your skin the love and care it deserves as your strong, trusty protector.
Click HERE for a full raw honey and beeswax skincare regime.
In the hive, bees use their raw honey, beeswax, and propolis to balance, nourish, protect, and heal - we’ve followed their example by harnessing these three potent powerhouse products - raw honey, pure beeswax and propolis - in our Nurse Bee and Sensitive Bee beeswax barrier balms for soothed, calmed, protected, glowy skin.
Click HERE to access our beeswax barrier balms - the ultimate skin barrier heroes.
As always lovely, if you have any queries about our honey skincare, please drop us a line and we'll be here to help you with them. Please do not hesitate to ask away! We're always here to help.
Love,
Cath and Bec xx
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