How To Protect Your Skin's Moisture Barrier and Prevent Dry Skin

The skin's moisture barrier is a part of your skin barrier. 

The skin's moisture barrier keeps your skin hydrated by trapping and holding water into your skin.

To prevent dry or dehydrated skin, you must protect your skin barrier, including your skin's moisture barrier.

To protect you skin's moisture barrier, try drinking water, use a humidifier, use a moisturizer with humectants, protect your skin from wind, cold weather and sun exposure, and always wear sunscreen or sunblock, especially when you go outside.

This article will discuss:

• What is the skin's moisture barrier?
• Normal skin hydration
• Water and skin cell turnover
• How to protect your skin's moisture barrier:
• Drink water
• Use a humidifier
• Use a moisturizer with humectants
• Limit exposure to cold weather
• Protect your skin from the elements
• Summary
• References

 

What is the skin's moisture barrier?

The skin's moisture barrier is a part of your skin barrier. 

The skin's moisture barrier ensures your skin is hydrated by trapping and holding water into your skin.

The skin's moisture barrier is composed of water, natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) and other humectants, such as glycerol and hyaluronic acid to attract and hold onto moisture.

Learn more: What is The Skin's Moisture Barrier?

Normal skin hydration

Water is essential for the normal functioning of the skin. 

The water content of skin is remarkably high - the epidermis (the outer skin layer) contains more than 70% water, while its outermost layer, the stratum corneum has been shown to contain ~15 - 25% water (Warner et al, 1988; Caspers et al, 2001; Caspers et al, 2003).

1. it maintains plasticity of the skin, protecting it from damage
2. it contributes to optimum stratum corneum barrier function
3. it allows hydrolytic enzymes to function in the process of desquamation

When the water content of the stratum corneum falls below 10%, scaling on the skin surface becomes visible (Rycroft, 1985).

The retention of water in the skin is dependent on:

1. Natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) and other humectants (such as glycerol and hyaluronic acid) to attract and hold onto moisture
2. Intercellular lipids (fats) that form a barrier to prevent transepidermal water loss (TEWL) (Verdier-Sévrain et al, 2007).

Water and skin cell turnover

New skin cells are formed at the base layer of the skin, and they differentiate and migrate towards the skin surface, in a process that takes approximately 4 weeks. Nearly a billion cells are lost each day from the surface of adult skin (Milstone et al, 2004). 

One of the critical functions of water in the skin is to participate in hydrolytic enzymatic processes required for normal desquamation. 

In other words - water is necessary for the enzymes to function properly. 

If the skin water content falls below a critical level, the enzymatic function required for normal desquamation is impaired, leading to skin cells sticking and building up on the skin surface (Verdier-Sévrain et al, 2007). 

How to protect your skin's moisture barrier

The skin's moisture barrier is composed of water, natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) and other humectants, such as glycerol and hyaluronic acid to attract and hold onto moisture.

There are several ways to protect your skin's moisture barrier:

1. Drink water
2. Use a humidifier
3. Use a moisturizer with humectants
4. Limit exposure to cold weather
5. Protect your skin from the elements

1. Drink water

Water is involved in virtually all bodily functions.

Thus, ensuring that the body has enough water to maintain proper function is important for health. 

Drinking water can increase your skin hydration, especially if you have a low water intake.

Drinking an additional 2 L of daily water over 30 days showed an increase in both stratum corneum hydration and “deep” skin hydration, particularly when the individual’s regular diet included low amounts of water (Palma et al, 2012; Palma et al, 2015a; Palma et al, 2015b). 

Another experimental study reported a slight increase in stratum corneum hydration after an additional dietary water intake of 1 L per day for a period of 42 days (Mac-Mary et al, 2006). 

For hydrated skin, it is best to aim for 6 - 8 glasses of water or other fluids per day, as is recommended for general health. 

Learn more: Does Drinking Water Help Dry Skin? Yes

2. Use a humidifier

Low humidity can worsen winter dry skin.

Studies in humans show a reduction in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) (a measure of the integrity of the skin's barrier function) with low humidity, alterations in the water content in the stratum corneum, decreased skin elasticity and increased roughness (Goad et al, 2016).

Indeed, when your skin is exposed to a dry environment, it could be more susceptible to mechanical stress (Engebretsen et al, 2016). 

It is generally thought that humidity levels within occupied spaces should not exceed 60%, and when levels of humidity fall to around 30% or below, occupants begin to feel thermal discomfort (Goad et al, 2016).

Learn more: Does A Humidifier Help with Dry Skin? Yes!

3. Use a moisturizer with humectants

You can protect your skin's moisture barrier by using a moisturizer that contains humectants.

Humectants help to attract and hold onto water and maintain hydration in the skin.

Humectants include natural moisturizing factors (NMFs), hyaluronic acid and glycerol.

5. Protect your skin from the elements

Daily insults from the environment, such as low humidity, wind, and sun, can lower the skin's water content, causing improper desquamation and the appearance of dry, flaky skin (Verdier-Sévrain et al, 2007).

Strong wind causes dry skin