Your skin has a protective shield called the moisture barrier of the skin. This barrier needs to remain intact in order to protect your skin from excess dryness and irritation along with other skin problems. When the barrier gets damaged it leads to irritation, bacterial infections, dryness, inflammation, stinging, burning sensation and more.
Traditional cleansers can’t help keeping your skin barrier intact as they rely on strong sulphate based surfactants which strip the moisture barrier of the skin. It leaves behind tight and dry skin which might be easily irritated.
So opting for a harsh cleanser is not the ideal solution for your skin. In order to protect the barrier of the skin you need to use a gentle cleanser which has a suitable skin pH along with skin supporting ingredients.
Your skin requires such products to keep the barrier of your skin intact. By shifting to a gentle cleanser like this you can reduce the chances of irritation, inflammation or redness on the face. It helps a lot in keeping your skin preserved.
The need to protect skin barrier
The skin barrier is the outermost layer of the skin also considered as stratum corneum which helps to protect the skin. It acts like a defense mechanism for the skin which is composed of ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol. Now this barrier helps lock the moisture in the skin protecting it from dryness.
It helps in controlling the transepidermal loss of water from the skin. This barrier layer does not allow entry of bacterial infections, pathogens, environmental irritants or particles deep into the skin. A well balanced and intact skin barrier makes the skin look smooth and radiant which is ideal. The skin does not look flaky or dry when the barrier layer is intact.
That is why you need to protect your skin barrier. Damaged skin barrier makes the transepidermal loss of water increase which makes the skin look dehydrated. Moisture loss from the skin increases rapidly causing skin dryness and flakiness. A compromised barrier can’t protect from bacterial or other foreign particle invasion. They could result in skin problems like when entering a deeper layer of skin. This results in increased skin irritation, inflammation or redness.
Traditional cleansers effect on the face
The cleansers that you might be using ordinarily don’t help your skin at all. These sulfate based cleansers can strip the moisture barrier of the skin leaving it damaged, dry and tight. The sulphate based surfactants have a harsh cleansing action which does not help the skin at all. When the barrier layer loses natural oils and moisture it gets easily affected by outside triggers and skin gets even more damaged.
Moreover these cleansers are formulated using fragrant ingredients which could irritate the skin even more. When the skin gets dry, sebaceous glands go overdrive and start producing excess sebum as a defense mechanism. This excess oil sits on the face making skin look oily and shiny from outside but under it is dry. It might also cause breakouts.
Benefits of using a gentle cleanser
Preserve skin barrier
The skin barrier is composed of natural oils and sebum which help in retaining moisture in the skin. Gentle cleansers work to lift the buildup of dirt and impurities gently without causing any skin damage.
Helps maintain skin pH.
Harsh cleansers can disrupt the skin pH as they are highly alkaline and skin has an acidic pH which protects the skin from bacterial infections. Gentle cleansers have a low pH which aligns with skin pH range.
Reduces Irritation and Sensitivity
A gentle cleanser reduces skin irritation and helps in soothing the inflammation from the skin unlike harsh cleansers which could cause skin irritation.
Strengthens the skin barrier
A gentle cleanser helps in replenishing the skin with lost moisturizing agents and helps in repairing the damaged skin barrier. It helps in retaining the moisture into the skin. It also helps in reducing skin dryness and reducing TEWL.
Suitable for daily use
Mild cleansers ideally do not cause any irritation or make skin dry. So they are perfect for incorporating in a daily routine.
Choosing cleanser based on skin type
Oily skin
Oily skin does not always need the harsh cleansers as it may cause rebound oil production in the skin. It requires a gentle cleanser with the right actives to reduce oil. A glycolic acid face wash could also be used.
Combination skin
It is complex to take care of oily and dry skin so using a gentle cleanser with some mild oil cleansing agents could help a lot.
Dry skin
Must use a cleanser with hydrating and moisturizing ingredients and gentle cleanser serves the purpose best.
Sensitive skin
They require a gentle cleanser and it is the best approach for treating hypersensitive and compromised skin barriers.
Final thoughts
A gentle cleanser is way better than harsh cleanser and works well for all skin types. It does not strip the moisture barrier or result in excess dryness on the face which is why it helps skin a lot. Your skin needs this in order to prevent skin dryness, irritation and inflammation which is caused due to harsh cleansers.
