How to Achieve Skin Balance for a Healthy Complexion
Words by EADEM
You’re only a few simple changes away to radiant, clear skin
Much like work-life “balance,” achieving skin balance is a constant juggling act of using the right skincare, sticking to a good diet, drinking enough water, and so on. It’s the one thing standing between you and smooth, supple skin that’s less prone to breakouts, signs of aging, and irritation. While we can’t help you breeze through the tasks on your iCal (sorry), we can share our top tips for more healthy skin altogether.
Understanding Skin Balance
Not sure what it means to have “balanced” skin? It helps to understand the three areas that compose healthy, balanced skin: the lipid barrier, microbiome, and skin pH. When they function at optimal levels, that’s when your skin thrives. Here’s what each component means and how to help balance them.
The Lipid Barrier
One major component of healthy skin is the lipid barrier — AKA the epidermis or the outermost layer of your skin — which serves as a protective barrier from the outside world (think: free radicals, allergens, bacteria, pollutants) and also a transport system for moisture, skincare ingredients, and beyond.
When it’s strong, it functions like the bricks in a wall or a paved road in a highway: bad stuff stays out and good nutrients are delivered easily. It functions at its strongest when it’s hydrated, helping to minimize moisture loss during the day or night and ensuring skin stays supple (so long as you treat it right — more on that below).
Its job as a guardian and receiver of moisture means that it’s crucial for maintaining healthy, hydrated skin.
The Microbiome
Another factor is your “microbiome,” a catchall term for the thriving landscape of microorganisms that live on your skin. These tiny living beings (such as bacteria, fungi, and other microbes) are often beneficial, protecting your skin from the sorts of environmental aggressors and damage that can cause inflammation, signs of aging, acne, and beyond.
A healthy microbiome, in other words, will keep your skin looking its best, though every person’s microbiome varies depending on factors such as:
Climate and environment
Gender
Age
Although it’s invisible, you can tell if your microbiome is off through skin dryness, acne, excessive oiliness, or if skin conditions like rosacea and psoriasis are popping up.
Skin pH
A balance in pH, or the level of its acidity, is another way to measure the health of your skin since too much fluctuation either way can cause issues. Acidity is slightly complex, but the need-to-know intel is that 7 is the absolute neutral measure of acidity on the pH scale: anything above it is alkaline, and anything below is more acidic.
Your goal is to maintain the equilibrium of your skin, which actually sits somewhere around 5, or ever-so-slightly acidic. That also means selecting products that help you maintain your natural skin acidity (which we break down below).
What does balance mean for your skin?
Healthy, balanced skin basically means that you’ve created an ecosystem in which your moisture levels are topped up, the good bacteria which keep bad bacteria at bay are thriving, your skin pH skews slightly acidic, and you’re not experiencing an excess of sebum.
Balanced skin is what you’ll see on a “good skin day,” but for more signs of skin abundance, here’s a checklist to look out for:
Skin feels clean, but not too “tight” or stripped after a cleanse
Skin feels moisturized, but not greasy
No major breakouts beyond the odd pimple
No flakiness or patchiness
No flare-ups in skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, or rosacea
What causes imbalanced skin?
Now that you know what healthy skin looks like, it’s also helpful to know what can upset that fine-tuned balance. Anything from tap water to environmental stressors and diet can cause a disruption, and the effects can depend on your skin type and just how sensitive it is to change.
Here’s a lineup of potential threats to look out for:
Irritants
For people with super sensitive skin, the skincare category can be a minefield of potential irritants. Knowing which ones are most harmful to you can depend on specific allergies you may have, such as essential oils, fragrances, dyes, and preservatives — it’s why many derms recommend avoiding anything with fragrance in it, a catchall phrase that could be masking many different additives.
All of the above are considered common irritants to avoid, but if you have dry skin, you may also want to steer clear of certain types of surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulphate, a foaming agent that can cause irritation and strip skin of its natural oils. Other types of additives and emulsifiers in cleaning products like detergents and cleaning solvents can also be very harsh on skin, which is why brands recommend limiting skin exposure or wearing gloves if you’re using them.
Hormones
If you’ve ever been prescribed a progesterone birth control pill specifically for acne, you already know that hormones can make a big difference on your complexion. That’s because the fluctuation of hormones like estrogen (during a woman’s period, for example) and testosterone (during puberty) can cause your skin’s sebum levels to rise and fall, too — and increase bouts of acne during those times.
Balancing your hormones via prescription birth control pills (or some other form of hormone therapy such as spironolactone) can help with acne, though we’d recommend speaking to a dermatologist or your primary care doctor before committing to anything. These medications can make a big impact on your general health, weight, and mood, so they’re not something to take lightly!
Unbalanced Beauty Products
No surprise here, but the types of beauty products you apply to skin can affect its overall balance and health, too). A good rule of thumb is to seek out slightly acidic skincare (read more here on why), and avoid products that are overly acidic or alkaline — such as strong scrubs or bar soaps.
Avoiding certain types of inflammatory surfactants and detergents, such as sodium lauryl sulphate (a common additive that creates a lathering effect), can prevent any unnecessary skin irritation, as well. An at-home pH test from a drugstore will give you hard proof of the acidity levels of any skincare you’re using, but you can also examine whether your skin feels super dry or tight after using a product for clues on its acidity and general rightness for your skin type.
Diet
Another area to examine is your diet. This could mean cutting out things like dairy and processed sugars, especially if you notice an uptick in breakouts after eating any particular food.
Seeing results will depend on many factors such as allergies or reactions you might have to these ingredients and your skin type (but keep in mind that the research on the links between diet and your skin health is fairly limited thus far).
Top Tips To Achieve Skin Balance
Avoid Detergents & Alcohol In Skincare Products
One of the easiest ways to streamline your skincare shopping is to avoid products that contain known irritants. Surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate (or SLS), for example, have been shown to increase skin irritation and tightness.
These are often found in foaming products like face washes, though lots of new lathering formulas out there use milder kinds of surfactants that are specially designed to be gentle on skin, so we wouldn’t avoid the category entirely.
Another ingredient to keep an eye on is alcohol which, in high amounts within a skincare product, can be very drying on skin. Know that only some types of alcohol are astringent, though, while others are actually helpful within skincare for preventing water loss in the skin and improving product consistency. (Look for harmless types like cetyl alcohol and lauryl alcohol, or find more info on ones to skip and give the go-ahead to here.)
Use Balancing Products
Prioritizing balanced products, which are formulated a certain way to preserve the natural acid mantle of your skin, is one shopping decision you can make to improve your daily skincare routine. Avoid alkaline products like bar soaps, and reach for slightly acidic ones instead, such as EADEM’s Cashmere Peel AHA+PHA Exfoliating Toner.
Avoid Refined Sugar
Refined sugars — often found in breads, pastries, and sweet drinks — have also been linked to breakouts. Studies have found that spikes in blood sugar levels cause inflammation throughout the body, which in turn leads to excess sebum production (and acne).
The research is limited, but general moderation may help you avoid “sugar face,” a term that describes the hyperpigmentation, visible aging, and increased acne associated with a high, sustained sugar intake over time.
Stay Hydrated
Hydration is vital to normal body functioning, period, so it makes sense that drinking more water can help your skin look less dehydrated, too. Moisture loss through the upper layer of the skin can leave it itchy and flaky, which is why it’s helpful to drink water whenever you feel thirsty.
The exact amount to drink depends on several factors — from your exercise habits to your environment — so there’s no magic number. But if you notice that your skin’s looking dry, especially in the colder months, it’s a sign that you need to increase your water intake or invest in different skincare products.
Try EADEM’s Dew Dream face wash that uses humectants such as glycerin to help your skin maintain moisture post-cleansing, or its Cloud Cushion moisturizer that repairs the skin barrier via ceramides and other potent ingredients.
Say Yes To Natural Anti-Inflammatories
Products that contain natural anti-inflammatory ingredients such as niacinamide, chamomile, ceramides, and licorice root (all of which show up in EADEM’s line of skincare) are also helpful for calming redness and soothing skin.
Consider Other Factors
Following these guidelines is a good blueprint for maintaining your healthy skin balance from day to day, but if something still feels off, other disruptors like the following might be the cause:
Contraceptives
Pregnancy
Illnesses
Medications
Cold weather or dry environments
Once you know what triggers can set you back, you’ll be well on your way to achieving skin harmony — no irritation in sight.
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