PRODUCT REVIEW: THE ORDINARY SOOTHING & BARRIER SUPPORT SERUM - How do you know if your skin barrier is damaged? How do I repair my skin barrier? What does The Ordinary pink serum do?
THE ORDINARY SOOTHING & BARRIER SUPPORT SERUM
If it seems like everyone you know thinks they have sensitive skin, it may not all be in your head. You may be surprised to learn that the vast majority of people believe their skin is sensitive and actively seek out products labeled “for sensitive skin”.
According to the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, up to 70% of people polled think their skin is sensitive. Given that, the odds are very good that you include yourself in that number.
And get this! The perception of skin sensitivity transcends gender. In an article titled The Prevalence of Sensitive Skin, the institution states that “Overall, ~60–70% of women and 50–60% of men report having some degree of sensitive skin.”
It’s this perception of skin sensitivity (whether rooted in reality or not) that’s the impetus behind the success of brands like CeraVe, Aveeno and First Aid Beauty – one of my favorite brands with some of the best facial skincare for sensitive skin.
While each of these brands has built their business on serving the specific needs of sensitive skins, they’re certainly not alone in offering products positioned to alleviate signs of sensitivity – including redness, irritation and even the occurrence of acne. Many brands do.
Mainstream skincare brands like The Ordinary are introducing more and more products formulated specifically to address the concerns of sensitive skin. This past year, the brand introduced its Natural Moisturizing Factors + Beta Glucan and Aloe 2% + NAG 2% Solution – two products infused with ingredients and technologies to soothe sensitivity in skin and especially in oily and acne-prone skin.
The latest offering is The Ordinary’s Soothing & Barrier Support Serum, a hot pink, velvety serum described as“a multi-active solution designed to help repair skin barrier, soothe discomfort, and reduce the look of redness.” More on this intriguing new product below.
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A few years ago, even I was convinced I had sensitive skin. My skin was becoming more inflamed – often with tiny, red bumps. Once I really started paying attention to what I was using on my face, and educating myself on ingredients, I came to realize that my skin was out of balance. It was simply reacting to my overuse of harsh actives like Glycolic Acid and Retinol.
The truth was my skin wasn’t sensitive – it was sensitized. A situation of my own making. Understanding whether your skin is sensitive or sensitized is an important factor in determining what you need to do to moderate signs of sensitivity – and attain and maintain optimal skin health.
How can you tell if your skin is sensitive or sensitized?
Generally, sensitive skin is a skin type, along with normal, dry, oily and combination skin. It’s characterized by adverse skin reactions that aren’t common to the others. Skin reactivity is often triggered by environmental factors, harsh skincare products, and even specific ingredients in the products you’re using. Sensitive skin signs commonly include redness, itching, burning, even stinging sensations.
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“~70% of the population consider themselves to possess the characteristics of sensitive skin, with about 50% of these patients demonstrating uncomfortable symptoms.”
On the other hand, sensitized skin can occur in any of the skin types. It refers to a temporary condition where the skin’s barrier is weakened, irritated, or otherwise compromised, leading to abnormal or uncharacteristic reactivity. Common factors include harsh weather conditions, excessive use of potent actives, over-exfoliation, and even food allergens.
Because the signs of sensitized skin are often the same as those of sensitive skin, the two are easily confused. Identifying whether your skin is prone to sensitivity or has become sensitized is central to identifying the best skincare routine for your skin – one that brings your skin barrier back into balance and minimizes any potential irritation.
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Before I get into my detailed The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum product review just below, I wanted to explore some of the most frequently asked questions about skin barrier health as well as questions specific to the The Ordinary’s new pink serum formula…
1. How do you know if your skin barrier is damaged?
A damaged skin barrier is often the root cause of multiple skin concerns common to sensitive skin. Among these are redness, irritation, stinging, eczema and even some forms of acne. Among the most common signs of a weakened or damaged skin barrier are:
Dryness and Dehydration: A damaged skin barrier can lead to increased moisture and water loss. It’s a condition that’s often referred to as a “leaky barrier” and causes your skin to feel dry and dehydrated, resulting in itchiness, flakiness, and rough skin texture.
Sensitivity and Irritation: A weakened skin barrier can leave your skin more exposed to external irritants that can result in redness, itching, and sensitivity to skincare products. Even simply cleansing can cause irritation.
Sensitivity to Temperature: One of the signs of a damaged barrier is increased sensitivity to temperature or climate changes. You may experience unusual discomfort or a stinging sensation when exposed to extreme temperatures. Sun burn is a prime example of this.
Redness or Inflammation: A damaged skin barrier can often result in redness and inflammation, making your skin appear even more irritated and prone to conditions like rosacea or eczema.
Acne Breakouts: One of the most common signs of a weakened skin barrier is acne. In its simplest form, a damaged barrier means your skin’s natural protective barrier is disrupted or “leaky.” This break in skin integrity allows bacteria, toxins and pollutants to penetrate the skin more easily. As with clogged pores, the bacteria can quickly lead to an increased occurrence of acne breakouts. If you already have acne-prone skin, the situation can get noticeably worse if your barrier is compromised.
Explore my picks of the best products from The Ordinary on the blog here.
Sources: NIH, National Library of Medicine, PubMed: Skin Barrier Function and Repair; NIH, National Library of Medicine, PubMed: Skin Barrier Abnormalities and Immune Dysfunction in Atopic Dermatitis; Cleveland Clinic: How To Tell if Your Skin Barrier Is Damaged and What To Do About It
2. How do I repair my skin barrier?
Your skin barrier, also known as the stratum corneum, is the outermost layer of your skin. It keeps the bad stuff out and the good stuff in. It acts as a protective barrier against external factors such as pollutants, toxins, and bacteria – all of which can be harmful to the body and your overall health. And, the skin barrier helps keeps moisture in the body to prevent against trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) – the leading cause of dehydration.
When your skin barrier is compromised, it can result in multiple skin issues, including dryness, sensitivity, redness, and inflammation. Even eczema and acne can be the result of a damaged skin barrier. What can you do to repair a damaged skin barrier? Consider these simple steps:
Use a gentle pH-balanced cleanser: Healthy, balanced skin starts with a cleanser that respects skin barrier integrity. Always use a gentle cleanser free from harsh ingredients like exfoliating acids, sulfates and fragrances. Harsh cleansers strip away your skin’s natural oils and disrupt the skin barrier. Look for cleansers that are pH-balanced to help maintain the skin barrier’s natural acidity.
Moisturize regularly: A moisturizer for your skin type is essential for repairing and maintaining a healthy skin barrier. Look for a face cream that contains ingredients like ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids – natural lipids that help replenish the skin barrier and improve barrier function. My favorite face cream for barrier repair is the Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream. Catch my review of it on the blog here.
Avoid irritants: Identify and avoid skincare products that contain potential irritants such as alcohol, fragrance, fragrant plant oils, and certain preservatives. These can further compromise your skin barrier, leading to irritation and sensitivity.
Use sunscreen every day: It is essential to protect your skin against photodamage, also known as sun damage. Unprotected exposure to UV radiation weakens the skin barrier, and is the leading cause of photoaging. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least an SPF 30 – even on cloudy, seemingly sunless days. If you have a concern for sensitive skin, opt for a mineral sunscreen over one that relies on chemical filters. Explore my picks of the best facial sunscreens on the blog here.
Avoid over-exfoliation: The body does a lot of things efficiently. Exfoliating, or shedding, dead surface skin cells, happens to be one of them. There is no need to use an exfoliating treatment with AHAs like Glycolic Acid more than once a week. And even that may be too much for your skin. Avoid harsh physical scrubs entirely and moderate use of chemical exfoliants that can be too abrasive for sensitive skin – and all skin types when done too often.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate: Drinking enough water each day is essential for replenishing your skin’s hydration levels. How much water should you drink a day? As a general rule, you should drink one ounce of water for every pound of body weight. If you weigh 150 lbs., you need to drink 150 oz. of water throughout the day to stay optimally hydrated – and to keep your skin healthy, too.
Explore my picks of the best products from The Ordinary on the blog here.
Sources: American Academy of Dermatology Association: Dry skin relief: How to heal dry skin. Retrieved; National Eczema Association: Skin Barrier Basics; WebMD: How to Repair Your Skin’s Barrier.
3. What does The Ordinary pink serum do?
The Ordinary’s pink serum, formally known as Soothing & Barrier Support Serum, is formulated with multiple ingredient technologies to help restore skin barrier health and address issues common to sensitive and sensitized skin, including redness and irritation.
According to The Ordinary, the serum contains ingredients that work synergistically to soothe discomfort, reduce the look of redness, and improve skin’s overall appearance.
See my full product review just below!
Explore my picks of the best products from The Ordinary on the blog here.
Sources: The Ordinary: Soothing & Barrier Support Serum
4. What does vitamin b12 do for your skin?
One of the more unique technologies featured in The Ordinary’s Soothing & Barrier Support Serum is Vitamin B12. It’s what gives the product its characteristic pink tone.
Why is Vitamin B12 important and what does Vitamin B12 for skin?
Vitamin B12 actually plays a vital role in maintaining your skin health. It is involved in the body’s production of DNA, RNA, and red blood cells, all of which are essential for the renewal and repair of skin cells.
Vitamin B12 promotes healthy skin by aiding in the formation of new skin cells and supporting overall skin cell health. It also aids in the production of collagen, an essential protein that gives your skin structure and elasticity – and ultimately determines its youthfulness. Thus, adequate levels of vitamin B12 can contribute to a more youthful and vibrant complexion.
Vitamin B12 helps improve skin’s moisture retention by strengthening the skin barrier and preventing moisture loss. This helps to reduce dryness and flakiness, resulting in softer and smoother skin.
And most importantly to sensitive skin, Vitamin B12 has anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe irritated or inflamed skin. It has the potential to even help alleviate symptoms associated with more serious skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and acne.
Explore my picks of the best products from The Ordinary on the blog here.
Sources: Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin B12; HealthLink BC: Vitamin B12 Deficiency Anemia
5. Product Review
The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum Review
As I said at the outset, The Ordinary has really stepped up its game when it comes to addressing the concerns of sensitive skin. This year, the brand has introduced three products that help to soothe signs of sensitivity, while enhancing skin barrier health.
At the start of the summer, The Ordinary introduced their third conventional face cream, the Natural Moisturizing Factors + Beta Glucan. Beta-Glucan is a superb hydrating and soothing active that works wonders for sensitive skin.
A few weeks earlier, the brand came out with one of the most unique products for soothing and treating acne-prone skin, the Aloe 2% + NAG 2% Solution. Described as “a lightweight soothing serum formulated for blemish-prone skin,” the serum contains unique technologies to help address post-acne marks and skin redness while healing and strengthening the skin barrier.
The Ordinary’s new Soothing & Barrier Support Serum delivers similar barrier enhancing benefits for all skin types – beyond just sensitive and acne-prone skins. And Vitamin B12 is the key technology that differentiates it from other similar serums.
Of course, the most noteworthy characteristic about The Ordinary’s Soothing & Barrier Support Serum is its hot pink hue. The first time I saw it I thought, Oh jeez what a gimmick!”
But then I learned that the wild pink tint isn’t a gimmick at all. It’s a consequence of the Vitamin B12 in the formula, which appears as Cyanocobalamin in the INCI. And the Vitamin B12 has a very specific purpose.
Vitamin B12 can do a lot. It promotes healthy skin by aiding in the formation of new skin cells and supporting overall skin cell health. As Vitamin C and Retinol (Vitamin A) it also aids in the production of collagen, an essential protein that gives your skin structure and elasticity – and ultimately determines its youthfulness. Optimizing the level of Vitamin B12 in your skin can contribute to a more youthful and vibrant complexion.
Additionally, like Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Vitamin B12 helps improve skin’s moisture retention by strengthening the skin barrier and preventing moisture loss. This helps to reduce dryness and flakiness, resulting in softer and smoother skin.
The new Soothing & Barrier Support Serum contains multiple technologies that help to alleviate irritation while strengthening the skin barrier to promote balance and maintain skin health.
In addition to Vitamin B12, these include Niacinamide (2%), Bisabolol, Gallic Acid derivatives, and what The Ordinary describes as “Centella Asiatica Phytotechnologies” – essentially components of the popular soothing Asian botanical known as Gotu Kola (e.g. Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, Madecassic Acid).
The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum has a milky emulsion texture that itself feels soothing on the skin.
But does this pink stuff work? Indeed, it does. And it’s become my go-to post-treatment skin soother. Over the last month, I’ve relied on The Ordinary’s pink serum to soothe and calm my skin after #selfcaresunday Glycolic Acid peels and exfoliating treatments.
Just this weekend, I did this crazy “face lift” (talk about gimmicks!) that slightly tightened my skin but left it more than slightly inflamed. Not the kind of trade-off I’m down for! I reached for the Soothing & Barrier Support Serum and smoothed it over my face. Within about 10 minutes, my skin was calm, the redness entirely gone, and I got on with my day.
There really aren’t many products like it. I’m fortunate to have healthy, balanced skin and to only need help when I’ve potentially sensitized my skin with harsh treatments. But if you are struggling with sensitive skin on a regular basis, The Ordinary’s new Soothing & Barrier Support Serum is a great option for relieving common signs of sensitivity, including redness and irritation.
6. Pros & Cons
What I like about it: The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum is one of the most unique products I’ve come across for soothing signs of sensitivity and sensitization in skin. I’m impressed by its multiple proven technologies for calming irritation and strengthening skin barrier health.
What I don’t like about it: I like everything about this stuff.
Who it’s for: All skin types, especially sensitive skins.
SHOP THE BLOG: Want to try it for yourself? Purchase The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum for $17 here.
The Ingredient List of The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum:
cci|sb|aacne|h, Hexyldecanol emo, Cetearyl Alcohol emo|vc|emu|surf 1 2, Xylitylglucoside 
h, Ceteth-20 Phosphate surf, Anhydroxylitol h, Ethyl Linoleate emo|perf, Asiaticoside aox|perf, Asiatic Acid , Madecassic Acid , Naringenin, Cyanocobalamin, Panthenyl Triacetate, 4-T-Butylcyclohexanol so|cci, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid so, Cetylhydroxyproline Palmitamide emo, Bisabolol so, Brassica Campestris Sterols emo, Sphingolipids emo, Phospholipids sii|emo, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside aox|so, Gallyl Glucoside aox|so, Propyl Gallate aox|perf, Xylitol h, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract aox|so, Stearic Acid emo|vc 0 2-3, Dicetyl Phosphate emu|surf, Isoceteth-20 emu|surf, Xanthan Gum vc, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate chel, Tocopherol aox 0-3 0-3, Dehydroacetic Acid pres, P-Anisic Acid pres, Phytic Acid chel, Sodium Phytate chel, Sodium Citrate chel|buff, Sodium Hydroxide buff, Benzyl Alcohol pres|perf|solv|vc, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Phenoxyethanol pres, Chlorphenesin pres|amic
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