Are you secretly sabotaging your skin barrier?

You know how your quads feel on fire after a super hard workout? Turns out your skin doesn’t love too much of a good thing either (like all the serums, peels and masks you slather on after that everything shower).

- LISA DESANTIS

We want our lotions and potions—but the truth is, piling on the products often ends up torturing your face instead of treating it. Here’s how to tell if you’re doing damage—and how to fix it.

What is the skin barrier?

The outermost layer of your face, your skin barrier, is a protective shield that maintains moisture and insulates against irritation and inflammation, explains dermatologist D. Heather D. Rogers. It’s also home to the microbiome—colonies of beneficial bacteria that live on the skin’s surface. Simply put, think of your barrier as your face’s first line of defense, keeping the good stuff in and locking the bad stuff out. But when that delicate layer is damaged? Moisture can easily escape, leading to increased dryness, flaking, dryness, irritation or sensitivity.

Complexion culprits

If your idea of the perfect weekend is holing up in your bathroom and experimenting with the latest drop from your favorite beauty brands, chances are you’re doing too much.

“Your face says ‘no more’—less is more,” says Dr. Rogers. Why? Using a multitude of potent products can inadvertently disrupt your skin barrier, causing more problems down the line (including, yikes, acne). Harsh ingredients like alcohol, strong fragrances and acid solutions that promise skin resurfacing can irritate your face and impair the barrier’s protective function, Dr. Rogers explains.