Why This Dermatologist Wants You To Take Your Barrier Function More Seriously

Here's a friendly reminder: Your skin is an organ. And like any organ, it has very specific functions in order to keep you at your healthiest. Its primary role is something called the skin barrier function, and despite the simplicity of the name (your skin is a barrier—checks out!), it actually gets quite complicated when you explore the mechanisms of the barrier.

When your skin is damaged, it cannot field stressors, allergens, and pathogens: "When your barrier is compromised, it's not able to be selective and smart. So things start getting in that really shouldn't be getting in, and then it can manifest itself in a few different ways depending on your genetic predispositions—you know acne, rosacea, or eczema," says Bowe.

People have long known how important it is to tend to your skin, of course, but only recently have we come to understand just how vital its barrier function is and how easily it can be disrupted. "The skin barrier, we're learning in the last several years how important it is," she says. "There's really beautiful science that's showing how important it is for all of these different things—that look very different when they appear on the skin—but maintaining your barrier is critical to all of them."

But here's the problem: Many people aren't necessarily predisposed to dramatic skin conditions. So when their skin is compromised, they may not have signs this is happening on and under the skin. But that doesn't mean the damage isn't occurring—nor will you see the effects later: "It can show up as accelerated aging," Bowe tells us. 

But it's not just aesthetic concerns later on you need to look out for: Damaged barriers now lead to skin conditions later. 

"In traditional medicine, doctors are there to put out fires, but if we take a step back and educate people on how to care for their skin in a prophylactic way, you can not only help with accelerated aging—but perhaps stop people from developing certain skin conditions later," says Bowe. "Think about that version of you 10 years from now—what can we do today to prevent skin conditions from forming?"

Not only does a flourishing skin microbiome help crowd out pathogens, but it literally instructs your immune function to perform optimally. "[Part of our skin barrier function is the] skin-associated lymphoid tissue immune system. There's this constant crosstalk between our skin microbes and our immune cells, where the microbes are actually telling our immune cells when it's important to react and when it's not." 

This conversation is vital because one of the organ's most important duties is to protect your body—and she goes on to explain that in animal studies they've found that when specimens don't have a proper microbiome, the immune system can't function properly either. 

Yes, you should look for biome-friendly products, but Bowe also warns us to think critically about the ones we are using. "These are everywhere," she says. "And barrier support as a 'trend' isn't going anywhere, but some of these products aren't being formulated in ways that are actually going to help your microbiome." 

She goes on to explain that even if a product has some biotic ingredient, the other actives in the formula may actually be backtracking on its work. For example, preservative systems may render a probiotic ineffective. Or washes may be made with surfactants that are too drying and stripping, therefore damaging the barrier or messing with the pH. Or creams may contain natural ingredients that are common allergens, irritating the skin further. 

We often talk about taking recovery days for muscles; well, your skin needs them too. Potent actives—think glycolic acid, retinol, salicylic acid, even certain types of vitamin C—can do great things for our skin. However, they can also really disrupt our microbiomes and barriers. 

This is why you have to use them in moderation.