Keeping your skin healthy is a complex process that affects many things. Understanding the common contributors to skin damage is essential for devising effective protective measures and skincare routines. Each plays a role in compromising skin health and appearance, from external elements like environmental pollutants to internal factors such as genetics.
Causes of damaged skin barrier:
UV Radiation: Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun, notably UVA and UVB, can lead to skin damage, including sunburn, premature ageing, and an increased risk of skin cancers.
Environmental Pollutants: Pollutants like smoke, dust, and chemicals can disrupt the skin's protective barrier, leading to inflammation, irritation, and the breakdown of collagen and elastin.
Lifestyle Habits: Unhealthy lifestyle choices such as poor diet, dehydration, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption can compromise skin health, accelerating the ageing process and reducing the skin's ability to repair.
Genetics and ageing: Genetic predispositions influence how the skin responds to environmental stressors, while natural ageing processes diminish collagen production, causing wrinkles, fine lines, and decreased skin elasticity.
Stress and Diet: High-stress levels and an imbalanced diet lacking essential nutrients can impact skin health, contributing to dullness, dryness, and other signs of damage.
Understanding and addressing these factors through proper skin care, protection from UV rays, a healthy lifestyle, and stress management are crucial in preserving skin health and preventing damage.
Identifying Signs of Damaged Skin:
Recognising signs of broken skin barriers is pivotal in implementing effective skincare regimens and seeking appropriate treatments. Several signs appear when the skin's health is bad, which are important reminders to take care of the problems immediately. Here are the signs of damaged skin
Dryness or Dehydration: Tightness, flakiness, or rough texture indicates a lack of moisture.
Redness, Inflammation, or Irritation: Persistent skin redness or irritation may result from environmental exposure or allergic reactions.
Uneven Skin Tone and Dark Spots: Pigmentation changes, dark spots, and sunspots often stem from prolonged sun exposure without protection.
Fine Lines, Wrinkles, & Reduced Elasticity: Signs of ageing include fine lines, wrinkles, and a loss of skin elasticity due to decreased collagen and elastin.
Acne, Breakouts, or Blemishes: Skin issues like acne or blemishes can indicate oil imbalances, clogged pores, or inflammation.
Heightened Sensitivity or Reactions: Increased skin sensitivity or adverse reactions to products may signal compromised skin barriers.
Importance of Skin Repair
Maintaining a robust skin repair process is vital for restoring and maintaining the skin's health, especially when facing a compromised or broken skin barrier. Repair mechanisms facilitate the healing of wounds, replenish moisture, and restore protective functions. A compromised skin barrier, often from harsh environmental factors or excessive cleansing, weakens the skin's defences, leading to dryness, irritation, and increased susceptibility to infections. Effective repair processes, stimulated by skincare routines and suitable products, aid in rebuilding the barrier, restoring moisture balance, and enhancing resilience against external aggressors. Prioritising skin repair sustains vitality, ensuring a strengthened defence against damage and promoting overall skin health.
Best skin repair products
Repair skin barrier with clean skin and body care essentials from Better Body Bombay. All these products have zero toxic chemicals and are sustainably sourced, cruelty-free and gender-neutral. We recommend products formulated with repairing ingredients that work well for skin types prone to damage. Following are a few of our recommendations.
Face Wash
To protect and repair your skin, we recommend BBB’s Lavender & Chamomile Face Wash. Infused with antioxidant-rich chamomile and calming lavender, this face wash tackles skin irritants while locking in moisture, thanks to the algal extract. Pink clay and cinnamon bark further boost skin protection and leave it feeling smoother and plumper.
Body Wash
Our recommendations in the body wash category are BBB’s Lavender & Chamomile Body Wash and Milk & Forest Honey Body Wash. The milk & forest honey nourishing daily body wash is enriched with nourishing royal jelly, pollen, and honey and does more than just deeply cleanse. Almond protein, cantaloupe, and milk provide intense hydration, while the horsetail extract helps boost collagen growth, keeping your skin firm and youthful. While the lavender & chamomile body wash is infused with a luxurious blend of chamomile and horsetail that soothes your skin by neutralising free radicals. Adding moringa leaf and ginger oils brings a healthy dose of hydration to your skin.
Body Lotion
For body lotions, try the Better Body Bombay Milk and Forest Honey Body Lotion, formulated with intensely hydrating milk and firming honey, which melts into dry and itchy skin, leaving it smooth and velvety. The pollen and royal jelly moisturise and provide dull skin with a dose of rejuvenation further enhanced by Bacuri Butter. On the other hand, the Better Body Bombay Lavender and Chamomile body lotion is infused with pomegranate oil, a powerhouse of antioxidants that pampers and heals your skin, leaving a youthful glow. Its intensive care formulation calms dry, irritated, and overworked skin with its natural balancing and soothing essence.
Lip Balm
There are several lip balms you can try for dry, cracked, and damaged lips, but the best seller at Better Body Bombay is the Milk & Forest Honey Lip Balm. Leave your lips feeling extra soft with the moisturising powers of milk and forest honey. Combined with cocoa butter and avocado, this balm helps fight against dryness and gives a silky smooth texture to your lips. Get intense hydration for your lips and leave them looking plump all day. No more chapped lips with Better Body Bombay’s Milk & Honey Lip Balm.
Hand Wash
We recommend BBB’s Aloe & Coconut Hand Wash and Milk & Forest Honey Hand Wash to repair your hands of damage. The Aloe Coconut deeply hydrates and softens skin by eliminating all traces of dirt and microbes. The Milk Honey hand wash provides superior moisturising with nutrient-rich oils to protect hands, leaving them smooth and silky all day.
