![]() It once kept you fully protected, but now it leaves you vulnerable to harm. Maybe it even has some kind of visible damage, like a hole or a tear. Maybe it’s thinner than before or the material has warped. Imagine your once-sturdy armor has taken some hits, and it’s not in the same shape it used to be. These same lipids - like ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids - are important ingredients in skin care products. Lipids are natural fats in your skin, and in this analogy, they’re the “mortar” that fills in the gaps between corneocytes.Corneocytes are the tough skin cells that make up the “bricks” of your skin barrier.And in terms of structure, it’s often likened to a brick wall: Your skin barrier is part of your stratum corneum, your top layer of skin. “So it’s very important for our skin health.” “It works to keep water in and to keep chemicals and infectious bacteria out,” she adds. Think of it like armor, protecting all the delicate skin just beneath the surface. But your skin barrier’s role is to keep that living organism well-protected from things that could harm it. The rest of your skin is a living organism. “It’s dead, not alive, and it’s made up of dead cells, lipids, proteins and fats that help protect your skin from the environment.” “Your skin barrier is basically your outer layer of the skin,” Dr. And while the term itself sounds a little foreboding, it’s actually pretty straightforward. ![]() What is your skin barrier?īefore you can determine the state of your skin barrier and how to go about fixing it, you first need to know what your skin barrier is. Policyīut what is your skin barrier, and exactly why is it so important? Dermatologist Melissa Piliang, MD, helps you sort fact from fiction to better understand the function of your skin barrier, how to tell when it’s damaged and what you can do to repair it. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center.
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