Ashish Shah
Cold weather is tough on the skin, especially when you're spending a lot of time inside with the heater cranked up. While your face might feel dull, dry and flaky in the beginning, the damage is being perpetrated from the inside-out, by slowly chipping away at the skin barrier. Not sure how to protect it? We asked the pros.
What is the skin’s natural barrier?
The skin’s outmost layer, stratum corneum, is composed of skin cells, lipids, cholesterol and natural moisturising factors (NMF) like amino and fatty acids. This layer acts as a protective shield that also holds on to moisture. “The skin barrier and the outermost layer is composed of tough cells known as corneocytes, They are present in the uppermost layer of skin, which looks like bricks containing keratin and natural moisturisers. These are connected to each other by lipids, which act as mortar between these cells connecting them,” says Dr Soma Sarkar, medical director at Dr Soma’s Dermatology and Aesthetic Clinic. These lipids move moisture between the cells and take it to the deeper layers. “This layer physically protects the skin and our body from external threats such as infections, chemicals, microbes, pollutants and allergens. Internally, it helps to protect us from enhanced loss of water from the body,” says dermatologist Dr Ameesha Mahajan, founder, RM Aesthetics. While applying the right moisturisers can help protect and maintain this barrier, there are many factors which can compromise it. Our skin is naturally acidic, which a pH level between four and five, which is our skin’s way of protecting it and preventing the growth of harmful bacteria, fungi, which can cause infections, allergies, acne, and make it more susceptible to irritants. So when the weather turns cold and you see your skin dry out, it develops cracks in the protective layer like a brick wall.
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