PROPER LEVELS of hydration are the cornerstone of attractive, healthy, glowing skin.
Closely linked to skin hydration is the skin’s hydro-lipidic barrier. If one is out of balance the other will always be affected.
Our skin is waterproof. Why? Well, we all know that oil and water don’t mix. The lipids (fats and oils) in our hydro-lipidic barrier repel water. Just look at a textile fabric: it will readily absorb water but if it is coated in oils, like the Dryza-Bone, the water pearls off without penetrating the fabric. So how do we keep our epidermis well hydrated if we cannot add water from the outside? Here is how it works:
Our dermis has a very high water content – around 90%. It delivers water to the basal layer of the epidermis where new skin cells are formed. Those new cells are rich in water. This water must be preserved through the layers of the epidermis until the skin cell – now in the form of a corneocyte – desquamates from the skin surface.
That’s what the skin’s hydro-lipidic barrier is for. It makes sure that the skin does not lose its moisture too quickly. The magic number is 15: if moisture levels in the stratum corneum fall below 15%, we see signs of dehydration. And the lower that percentage goes, the worse the symptoms we experience.
Here is the circular relationship between skin hydration and the skin’s hydro-lipidic barrier: if the skin’s hydro-lipidic barrier is weakened, it will lead to increased loss of moisture from the stratum corneum. As a result, we’ll experience the signs of dehydrated skin. Increased levels of dehydration in turn weaken the skin’s hydro-lipidic barrier. So how does this happen?
At OmniDerm we identify four levels of dehydrated skin. The first level is mild: the patient is not aware of it, but the experienced skin professional will spot the signs. The solution is a biomimetic barrier repairing skincare cream that quickly reduces TEWL (Trans Epidermal Water Loss) to normal healthy levels.
If corrective action is not taken, dehydration will progress to the next stage: tight skin. Why does the skin feel tight? As the corneocytes lose moisture they shrink; think grape and raisin. This symptom will be noticed by the patient but is sometimes misinterpreted as a positive sign – as though tighter skin will show less wrinkles. Yet there is nothing positive about tight skin – it is a signal that the skin is in serious distress.
At this point the physical barrier of the skin is failing. Tiny fissures develop in the stratum corneum, allowing allergens, chemicals and bacteria to penetrate deep into the epidermis. Now the immune barrier comes into play: Langerhans cells detect ingress of foreign bodies. They initiate a series of immune responses. The skin now feels sensitive and will soon exhibit signs of inflammation and redness. Does that sound familiar?
Now things get really serious: dehydration leads to inflammation. This is not the healthy inflammation that is associated with a healing response. If there
is ongoing sensitivity and redness we are facing chronic inflammation. And chronic inflammation causes the formation of so-called self-destruct enzymes. Collagenase destroys collagen, elastase destroys elastin, and hyaluronidase – you guessed it – destroys hyaluronic acid.
It all starts with a small enough problem: dehydration of the skin. If ignored or not treated with a good barrier repairing biomimetic cream, this small problem escalates to become a serious issue that contributes to premature signs of aging.
At OmniDerm, we have been advocating the need for proper levels of skin hydration for nearly 30 years. We talk about this because our Dr. Spiller Biomimetic skincare creams are specially formulated to quickly repair and reinforce the skin’s hydro-lipidic barrier. That’s where the term bio-mimetic comes from – our creams mimic the skin’s natural hydro-lipidic barrier as closely as is possible with today’s best science and technology. And the cherry on top? These formulas are perfect delivery vehicles for superlative active ingredients. This will be discussed in a future article.
