You may not know this, but your skin’s moisture barrier plays a crucial role in keeping your complexion safe from harsh chemicals, and environmental stressors, such as pollutants and the sun’s rays. It also pushes out dead skin cell layers from your skin’s surface and produces its own moisture to keep your complexion soft and nourished. But to serve its functions properly, you need to support your skin’s moisture barrier with essential vitamins and minerals that keep it strengthened and healthy. This can be done by introducing key skin barrier-strengthening ingredients in your pregnancy beauty routine.
One of the most powerful skincare actives that you can add to your beauty routine to enhance your skin’s integrity is ceramide. In fact, ceramide is among the most beloved ingredients of experts who swear by its super soothing and moisturising properties. Read on to know more about your moisture barrier, how ceramide repairs your damaged skin barrier, and the best ceramide-infused skincare products to add to your pregnancy beauty routine.
What Is Your Skin’s Moisture Barrier?
Your skin’s moisture barrier is a protective layer in the epidermis that is filled with fatty acids and lipids. It also goes by the name of the acid mantle and functions as a shield against harsh external environmental stressors and unwanted bacteria. One of its prime functions also involves absorbing and maintaining moisture and preventing transepidermal water loss, which is the major cause of dehydration in the skin.
Due to its unique composition, the skin barrier is also compared to a brick-and-mortar structure. Here, the skin cells are the bricks, and the lipid that they secrete form the mortar. The lipid binds with your skin cells, and together they protect your skin from the outside world.
However, if you don’t pay proper care to your skin barrier and end up damaging it, you may experience dull, dry, and flaky skin. Also, a damaged skin barrier causes invisible gaps and cracks in your skin, making it easier for external irritants, bacteria, and pollutants to enter your skin surface and cause skin concerns like acne, eczema, hyperpigmentation, increased sensitivity, and redness.
What Causes A Damaged Skin Barrier?
One of the major causes of a compromised skin barrier is the loss of water and natural oils from your skin surface. This mostly occurs if you expose your skin to harsh cleansers, alcohol-based and fragrant-rich products. Additionally, skincare products with a high concentration of essential oils and harmful chemicals can contribute to a compromised skin barrier.
Harsh exfoliators can also mess with your skin’s moisture barrier by stripping away natural oils. Thus, you should be extra cautious while choosing your pregnancy skincare products, and only choose products that are formulated with organic and plant-based actives that are 100% chemical-free.
How Does Ceramide Repair A Damaged Skin Barrier?
Ceramides are generally naturally found in your skin and are essential for keeping the lipid structure strong. However, due to certain reasons, such as ageing or the use of harsh skincare products, your skin loses natural ceramides, leading to a compromised skin barrier. Using products enriched with ceramides can replenish those lipids in your skin and keep your moisture barrier intact, thus preventing transepidermal water loss and dehydration.
Besides enhancing your skin’s moisture barrier, ceramides also work to protect your skin against environmental aggressors and tackle premature ageing signs, such as wrinkles and fine lines.
Best Ceramide-enriched Products To Add To Your Pregnancy Beauty Routine
The Moms Co.’s Natural Ceramide Face Toner
This natural ceramide face toner from The Moms Co. works to replenish all the lost ceramide in your skin and neutralises your skin’s pH levels in just a few spritzes. The non-drying formula is also enriched with rice water, plant-based AHAs, and chamomile extracts that help rebuild your skin’s protective barrier, retain moisture and tighten pores to minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The face toner also contains rice water and cucumber extracts, which boost hydration in your skin, and reduce irritation and enlarged pores, making it the perfect addition to your pregnancy skincare routine.
The Moms Co.’s Natural Ceramide Face Serum
This natural ceramide face serum from The Moms Co. is perfect for rebuilding your skin’s protective barrier and recharging your complexion. It contains a blend of barrier-strengthening ingredients like rice water, ceramide, hyaluronic acid, and natural vitamin E, which work to repair skin damage caused by environmental stressors and improve elasticity to make your complexion appear tight and firm. The face serum is also beneficial for boosting collagen production and stimulating skin cell turnover to prevent dullness, age spots, and an uneven skin tone.
The Moms Co.’s Natural Ceramide Face Cream
If your skin needs intense moisture to repair and rebuild, then this natural ceramide face cream should top your beauty shopping cart. It is formulated with natural and plant-based actives like ceramides, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, rice water, and cica, which help replenish lost ceramides in your skin and strengthen your skin barrier for a more radiant, and even-toned complexion. The face cream also contains squalane, which works double duty along with hyaluronic acid to provide long-lasting moisturisation, and enhances your skin’s integrity to make it firm, supple, and tight.
If you want healthy and nourished skin, then you should definitely pay special attention to your skin’s moisture barrier. This can be done by adding barrier-strengthening ingredients like ceramides to your pregnancy beauty routine, which repairs your damaged skin barrier, and replenish your skin from within to make it appear radiant and super-healthy.
BRB, we are going to try these ceramide-enriched products Stat to protect our complexion and its integrity. What about you?
Also read:
Best ceramide skincare products for pregnancy: Check out this list of the most-loved ceramide-infused skincare products.
Benefits of ceramides for skin: How does ceramide benefit your skin and why should you add it to your pregnancy beauty routine? Find out all the details in this post!
Vitamin E in your pregnancy skincare routine: Here’s exactly what you need to know about the benefits of adding vitamin E to your pregnancy beauty routine, and the best products to use.
Feature image: Freepik.com
