THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
SKIN BARRIER IN WINTER
Don’t succumb to the dreaded ‘winter face’ this season.
Take care of your epidermal barrier and your skin will do the rest.
can open up the door to a whole host of issues
that your skin could do without. We’re talking
accelerated ageing, dehydration, sensitivity,
redness, rough texture and even eczema - things
that definitely aren’t on your Christmas list.
Dr Carl Thornfeldt, founder and CEO of
Epionce skin care, knows just how important
the skin barrier is for good skin health: “The
skin barrier has a huge influence over what
happens in both the dermis and epidermis. In
fact, it is important for regulating all kinds of
he start of winter shines a harsh light
aspects of the skin. Damage to the barrier
on the condition of the skin barrier,
could lead to inflammation in the cells, which
that outermost layer of the epidermis
results in skin
known as the stratum
and the incorneum, revealing a
An impaired barrier might not look ageing,
crease of bad things
dry, flaky and irritatgreat but it also opens the door to a like pollution and
ed complexion that
UV light penetratappears unrecogniswhole host of issues
ing the skin.”
able to your previThe easiest way to visualise the skin’s barrier is
ously plump and sun-kissed skin. Yes, an imto think of a flattened brick wall. The bricks
paired skin barrier might not look great, but its
are corneocytes, a type of cell whose name is
inability to function properly during the winter
Just when you had mastered the art of
summer skincare and the minimal regime
changes required by autumn, along comes
winter with its freezing temperatures, biting
winds and months of festive anticipation.
You will probably have updated your winter
wardrobe already; swapping t-shirts for
woolly jumpers and sandals for boots, but
have you reassessed your skincare regime?
T
ISSUE #02 | WINTER 2016 | SkinHealthMagazine.com 6