Skin Care
Skin barrier protection 101
by Paige Herman-Axel, L'Oreal Dermatological Beauty|November 29, 2023
The experts at LovelySkin have teamed up with La Roche-Posay to share the latest skin care intel.
No matter your age, skin type or skin concerns, your skin’s moisture barrier should be a top priority to ensure overall skin health. Though especially important for those with dry or sensitive skin, respecting and reinforcing your skin barrier helps maintain vital hydration while keeping environmental irritants out.
Barrier-focused skin care comes in many forms, including specially formulated cleansers, skin treatments and more. La Roche-Posay’s latest launches in its Cicaplast line offer full-body and targeted treatments that help alleviate dryness and irritation caused by a compromised skin barrier. Read on to learn more about:
1) A multipurpose cream for irritated skin
La Roche-Posay’s first Cicaplast product was the Cicaplast Balm B5, and this soothing multipurpose cream has been relieving cracked, chapped and chafed skin as well as irritation and roughness due to dry skin since its debut in 2011.
2) A healing cream for hands
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Hand Barrier Repairing Cream was introduced next, creating the foundation for additional La Roche-Posay products designed specifically to reinforce a compromised skin barrier and soothe associated symptoms like dryness and irritation.
3) A hydrating gel for skin protection
La Roche-Posay’s new Cicaplast Defense Gel B5 takes Cicaplast Balm B5’s skin-soothing abilities to the next level by offering enhanced skin-protection benefits. This new formula also helps relieve chapped and cracked skin due to a disrupted skin barrier like its predecessor, but it features 21% glycerin and a unique mineral complex of copper, zinc and manganese to draw hydration to the skin and prevent water loss with a protective gel-based texture rather than a cream. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Defense Gel B5 is also formulated with madecassoside, an ingredient known to promote wound healing.
Proven safe for use post-procedure, post-stitches and post-laser, La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5 provides the protective and healing benefits of an occlusive ointment while helping to repair a compromised barrier and soothe symptoms such as skin dryness, chapping and cracking.
Based on consumer feedback after using Cicaplast Gel B5 for four weeks, 90% of users reported more supple skin, 90% reported softer skin and 84% report reduced discomfort due to skin dryness.
4) A barrier-repairing lip balm
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Lips Barrier Repairing Balm is another new addition to the brand’s barrier-repairing product family. In addition to providing instant and long-lasting hydration, this powerful lip balm helps repair the skin barrier by locking in moisture. Featuring a blend of 5% vitamin B5 and lipids to soothe and strengthen delicate skin, moisturizing shea butter and antioxidant-rich La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water, its non-greasy texture helps smooth dry lips upon application and provides healing benefits with ongoing use.
Ideal for restoring a compromised skin barrier due to harsh environmental conditions, laser treatments or skin injuries that require stitches, this ultra-gentle yet reparative regimen helps relieve dry, sensitive and irritated skin while putting it on the path for optimal recovery.
Barrier repair starts in the shower, and this unique oil-to-foam formula provides 24-hour hydration and instantly soothes the skin. Offering effective cleansing without stripping the skin of its natural moisture, it also helps protect the skin barrier from the potential drying effects of hard water.
Ideal as a final skin care step or for instant skin-soothing throughout the day, this gentle mist refreshes and comforts skin on the face and body thanks to a high concentration of antioxidant-rich selenium and other skin-friendly minerals.
Step 3: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Defense Gel B5
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Defense Gel B5
This gentle-yet-effective gel is designed to protect and soothe a disrupted skin barrier while attracting moisture to the skin, helping to lock it in and improving the look and feel of dryness, chapping and cracking.
Are you looking for guidance on post-procedure skin care? You can learn more about what products to pair with laser treatments, injectables and more on the LovelySkin Blog.
