SKINFIX | BARRIER+ TRIPLE LIPID-HYALURONATE SERUM

This review was originally part of my blog article titled, My Winter Skin Savior: Skinfix Barrier+ Lipid Replenishing Skincare. You can catch the full piece here.

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As much as wintry weather terrorizes my daily life, it terrorizes my skin. Early on in the cold weather season, beginning in late November, I was combatting the drying effects of the cold air with a heavier face cream, a hydrating mist (make it six!), and a good humectant face serum. Honestly, a well-formulated humectant is everything. A few weeks ago, I published a piece titled, My Favorite Humectant Serums from Paula's Choice, The Inkey List, Ghost Democracy and More.

That earlier article includes product reviews of what I consider some of the best Hyaluronic Acid serums I’ve come across in my skincare travels. Locking hydration into the skin is essential during the winter months — and it gets more and more challenging as the temps descend into madness.

MY FAVORITE HUMECTANT SERUMS FROM PAULA'S CHOICE, THE INKEY LIST, GHOST DEMOCRACY AND MORE

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But humectants aren’t the only tool in your arsenal for preventing dehydration and trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) in brutally cold air. A thick, rich, replenishing moisturizer is also essential for maintaining optimal skin health during the dry winter season. In my series on heavier face creams titled, Winter Moisturizers Part I – Some of the Best Face Creams for Dry Skin and All Skin Types in Cold Weather, I first introduced the clean, clinical Skinfix brand and their Barrier+ franchise. (More on that in a few.)

Skinfix is having a moment in the sun (and the cold!). Suddenly, serious skincare bloggers and enthusiasts, what the brand refers to as “skin nerds,” are raving about its exceptional skin barrier repairing skin care.

The brand’s founder and chief skin nerd, Amy Risely, is a real expert in skin barrier health and common skin issues related to a compromised barrier, including sensitivity and eczema. In fact, Skinfix has an entire range of eczema treatments called Eczema+. If you struggle with eczema, as I sometimes do in the winter months, you’ll want to turn to Skinfix. The products simply work!

Skinfix products are clean, vegan/beegan and highly efficacious treatments that are just shy of prescription strength —particularly in the treatment of dermatitis.

“At Skinfix, we have come to understand that the skin barrier is vulnerable to many factors and there truly is not one solution to fit all. We meet skin at its most distressed, and formulate clean, highly effective, yet gentle solutions to bring it back to a state of wellness and help keep it there.” - Amy Risley, Skinfix founder

As a clinical brand, Amy and her expert team are focused primarily on protecting, maintaining and enhancing the skin health of their users. Notably, much of what the brand espouses centers on the health of the skin barrier itself. Just as Skinfix offers some of the best face creams for eczema, the brand also has a broad collection of products that target skin barrier health called simply, Barrier+.

The Skinfix Barrier+ collection is formulated to replenish and restore lipids in the skin barrier, also known as the moisture barrier or lipid barrier.

What are lipids in the skin?

Lipids are a hot skincare topic of late. While the power antioxidant Niacinamide has been everyone’s favorite active for a couple of years now, lipids are all the rage. What are lipids? Well, lipids are the skin’s natural fats. And they’re essential components of the skin barrier.

The lipid content of the upper layers of the skin includes fatty acids, ceramides and cholesterol that combine to support skin barrier function and fortify against TEWL, or trans-epidermal water loss. The loss of moisture through the skin barrier is one of the leading causes of dehydration, dryness and weakening of skin barrier defenses that can lead to common skin conditions like sensitivity, irritation, eczema and dermatitis.

As proponents of barrier health and the role that lipids play, there’s an insightful piece on the Skinfix website titled, Do you know the importance of lipids to skin health? (You can read the full piece here.)

What is the lipid layer of the skin?
The lipid layer of the skin is composed of fatty acids, ceramides and cholesterol – all natural fat substances that play an important role in skin health. Although research regarding lipids is an emerging area of skin research, studies suggest optimal levels of ceramides in human skin to be approximately 50% of the skin’s lipid layer, cholesterol 25%, and other fatty acids at about 10-15%.
You may know the lipid layer by one of its other names: the skin barrier or moisture barrier. However it’s referred to, this natural barrier serves key functions that are linked directly to skin health.
One of these essential tasks is to act as an environmental shield against external aggressors including pollutants, free radicals and microorganisms like viruses and bacteria. Additionally, this layer of skin fats functions as a moat to hold moisture in the skin and prevent loss of water and electrolytes through the skin barrier.
In fact, optimal lipids in the barrier help all of the skin’s functions to operate more effectively. Examples of these vital functions are: immune response and wound healing; skin’s response to UV radiation and its regulation of melanin; the natural production of protective antioxidants; and the support of dermal functions, including the production of elastin and collagen in the dermis.
How can I improve my skin lipid barrier?
So, proper lipid barrier function is the key to skin health. But did you know that we lose skin barrier lipids like ceramides and fatty acids as we age? Over the course of our lives, the skin’s lipid content steadily declines as the skin is unable to replenish depleted lipids like fatty acids and ceramides at a youthful pace.
By our 30s, we may have lost up to 40% of vital skin lipids.
By our 40s we may have lost up to 60% of vital skin lipids.
This absence of lipids in the skin compromises skin barrier defenses and accelerates signs of skin aging. The solution? A lipid-rich moisturizer that helps replenish ceramides and fatty acids to maximize optimal functions and preserve the youthful behaviors of the skin. Even what may be considered the best face creams for dry skin can fall short of skin’s most essential needs. When it comes to skin barrier health, these needs transcend mere moisture.
Studies have shown that using a face cream with skin-similar lipids that mimic the skin barrier’s own lipids is the most effective way to replenish lipids.

WINTER MOISTURIZERS PART I – SOME OF THE BEST FACE CREAMS FOR DRY SKIN AND ALL SKIN TYPES IN COLD WEATHER

Read Article

The cornerstone of the Barrier+ regimen is the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream. Skinfix refers to its top-selling face cream as “a lipid filler” that is rich in vital lipids, peptides and Sodium Hyaluronate — the salt form of Hyaluronic Acid that is more compatible with the skin. The Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream is clinically proven to help restore skin lipids like ceramides and fatty acids — and support barrier function by reversing lipid depletion.

When paired with the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum and Foaming Oil Cleanser, the three-product Barrier+ regimen has been clinically proven to replenish skin lipids by nearly 24% in 28 days — or just about 1% per day. That’s serious barrier replenishment and repair!

Let’s take a look at the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum…

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WINTER MOISTURIZERS PART I – THE BEST FACE CREAMS FOR DRY SKIN WITH PAULA'S CHOICE, SKINFIX & MORE!

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Skinfix | Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum

A good humectant serum is everything for preventing the dehydrating effects of cold air. And the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum is one of the best humectant serums. Formally known as Barrier+ Lipid-Boost Jelly, the Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum is a 97% naturally derived milky serum that’s easily layered over a Niacinamide and/or Vitamin C serum and below a moisturizer.

The cleanly formulated Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum is powered by the brand’s Triple Lipid Complex — proven to help restore and replenish lipids and fatty acids in the skin.

Again, as part of the three-product Barrier+ regimen it has been clinically proven to replenish skin lipids by nearly 1% per day.

What gives this silky gel-serum its hydrating oomph is its blend of naturally derived humectants, including Sodium Hyaluronate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice and Chondrus Crispus Extract. Notably, Chondrus Crispus Extract is classified by the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team as one of the best actives for skincare. According to the panel:

Chondrus crispus, also known as red algae, is a type of seaweed that’s a rich source of many nutrients for skin, including the pigment beta-carotene and potent antioxidants zeaxanthin, lutein, which help protect skin from the visible effects of blue light exposure. Of course, the antioxidants in red algae have wider-reaching benefits, too.
The natural polysaccharides, peptides, and amino acids in red algae also help skin to stay hydrated; meanwhile, the numerous antioxidants in this and other types of algae can help shield skin from damaging airborne pollutants.
Chondrus crispus contains a compound known as carrageenan, which forms a flexible film on skin that offers further defense against environmental stressors.

This humectant powerhouse blend helps to lock moisture in the skin to prevent dehydration and maintain optimal hydration levels throughout the upper skin layers.

There are also several highly effective non-fragrant plant oils that nourish and moisturize dry skin, including Jojoba Oil and Squalene. Numerous antioxidants help skin defend against environmental aggressors — among them, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract (Peony Root Complex) and Rosemary Leaf Extract.

What’s the difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin?

For the answer to that vexing questing, as I most often do, I turned to the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team for insights. There’s a superb piece on the Paula’s Choice site titled, What is Dehydrated Skin & How to Choose the Best Products. Here is an excerpt:

Dehydrated skin often looks and feels like dry skin all over your face, but there's a major difference between the two: dehydrated skin is usually a temporary concern (with various surprising causes) and dry skin typically doesn't change over time. If you have dehydrated skin, your skin may also produce a normal or even excessive amount of oil on its surface.
"Dehydrated skin" is something we’re asked about frequently. It seems there’s a lot of confusion about what this skin concern is about. A major part of the confusion is that the term "dehydrated skin" is often used interchangeably with "dry skin" or "combination skin" but they are not the same! Dehydrated skin can occur in all skin types and is not exclusive to those with dry skin or combination skin.
The Difference Between Dry Skin and Dehydrated Skin
Having classically dry skin is easy to recognize. Dry skin frequently feels tight and dry, with no oil anywhere to be seen. This situation rarely fluctuates; skin feels dry all year long. The dryness might get worse depending on the climate, season, or activity, but regardless of those things, without great skin care products, the uncomfortable dry, tight feeling will persist.
As mentioned above, dehydrated skin can look and feel similar, but there’s a major difference: Dehydrated skin tends to come and go, it does not persist.

I’m obsessed with its concentrated silky, milky texture. It feels so pampering on skin and melts right in. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced, yet luxurious humectant serum, the Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum is an ideal option.

SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum for $28 here.

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