If your summer skin care struggles include feeling slick with sweat and oil in the heat, yet tight and sensitive after cleansing, this one’s for you.
I always thought that summer meant using less moisturizing products, because I hate the feeling of noticeable products on my face when it’s hot. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that our skin actually needs the most support this time of year, and as we transition our routines from winter to summer, we’re leaving a key component out that should be a year-round staple.
Let’s dive into why your skin may be freaking out this season, and what your summer skin care routine is missing.
What is a Skin Barrier? (And Why Should You Care?)
The skin barrier (also known as the epidermis, or formally called your stratum corneum) is the topmost layer of your skin that protects you from damage and supports hydration. It’s your body’s first defense against environmental stressors and also helps retain and regulate moisture in the skin.
Your skin barrier is a matrix of lipids, with ceramides making up about 50% of it, that holds your skin cells together and keeps moisture sealed in. When it becomes damaged, you may experience more sensitive, reactive skin. Redness, tightness, flaking, stinging, and overall dryness can be a clue that your skin barrier is compromised. This may be a familiar feeling in winter when the weather is more cold and dry, but summer actually poses an even bigger risk… despite feeling dewy in the season’s heat.
Skin Barrier Care is a Year Round Job
Barrier damage doesn’t typically happen overnight. It’s repeated damage, or repeated neglect, adding up to something harder to manage once you do notice it.
Year round, your skin is handling pollution, stress, hormones, and other lifestyle factors like diet that can cause changes in the skin.
What Summer Does to Your Skin Barrier
In summer, increased UV exposure speeds up this process and breaks down the lipids that hold together your skin barrier while also disrupting the skin’s ability to replenish natural ceramides.
Humidity during summer can trick you into thinking your skin is plenty moisturized, but a compromised skin barrier won’t actually hold on to that feeling long term. Plus, spending more time indoors with the air conditioning blasting pulls more moisture out of the skin, and going back and forth between the two completely throws your skin off its cycle.
Simple summer activities such as swimming in the pool or ocean water can disrupt the skin’s pH and strip your skin. You may be tempted to use stronger cleansers to get off sweat and sunscreen while opting for lighter moisturizers.
With the skin barrier providing the first line of defense against the sun, on top of the fact that ceramides decline naturally with age beginning in your 20s, barrier care should be a daily essential, especially in summer.
What Your Summer Skin Care Routine Needs: Ceramides
During summer, you don’t necessarily have to add more steps to your routine, but more intentional ones. Whether you are looking to repair the skin barrier or maintain it, incorporating ceramides is a no-brainer. Not only will they work to keep your skin healthy, but help you achieve the much sought-after glass skin glow.
Using ceramide skin care works to restore what has depleted from the UV exposure, AC cycling, and over-cleansing covered above, while also giving you immediate benefits like hydration and a plumping effect as they lock in moisture and prevent transepidermal water loss.
What do Ceramides Do for Skin?
Think of ceramides as the grout between tiles… the tiles being your skin cells. When they’re lacking, you may feel like your face is perpetually dry and reactive, even when using moisturizers regularly. But a run-of-the-mill moisturizer is not the same as a ceramide cream. Most moisturizers work as humectants by attracting water into the skin like hyaluronic acid, but ceramides are what keep moisture from escaping. Without ceramides, no matter how much moisturizer you apply, your skin won’t retain it.
There are several different types of ceramides that each have different functions within the skin barrier structure, which is why multi-ceramide skin care formulas are key.
- Ceramide NP: offers deep hydration and moisture retention
- Ceramide AP: enhances elasticity and firmness
- Ceramide EOP: acts as a shield against environmental damage
- Ceramide NS: strengthens and protects the skin barrier
- Ceramide EOS: soothes & calms sensitive skin
The Ceramide Dynamic Duo
Just two products have been a lifesaver for my own skin: the haruharu Wonder Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence and the Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream.
The Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence is a lightweight milky formula that combines the power of ceramide, probiotics and panthenol to moisturize, soothe, improve skin texture and help it retain moisture. It’s clinically proven to boost hydration by 33%+ and strengthen the skin barrier by 21%+ in just two weeks, making it a great choice if you need to repair the skin barrier after damage.
In my experience as someone with textured and acne prone skin, the gentle exfoliation from the probiotics and brightening power of the antioxidants have also helped me achieve a more even skin tone and clearer complexion. I use this essence twice a day after cleansing while the skin is still damp. It boosts hydration without feeling heavy or sticky, perfect for summer skin care routines, and layers perfectly with SPF and makeup (no pilling ever!). Consider it your prep & protect step that gives the rest of your routine a foundation to build on.
Follow up your essence with the Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream. Structured for easy absorption, the 5 Ceramide Complex Capsules in the formula work together to improve barrier strength in just two weeks while improving hydration by over 35% and offer fast, all day deep moisture. This is an excellent barrier cream for those with sensitive skin as the allantoin and vitamin E in the formula calm irritation while also boosting skin elasticity. It feels luxe, but never too heavy, giving all skin types exactly what they need. Because it contains five distinct ceramides, it addresses the full spectrum of skin barrier repair and locks in your other moisturizing products. It re-grouts the tile, so to speak, of your skin cells.
Together, these products help fortify and repair the skin barrier to give you your best summer glow. Use them AM and PM for an effective, simple routine paired with your favorite cleanser and SPFs.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in skin care trends like the 12-step routine, or popular ingredients that seem to show up in everything. But ceramides are what your skin needs, because it’s what’s already there holding everything together. Your skin has always needed them, summer just makes that impossible to ignore.
Meet the Author
Miranda has been a trusted voice in the online beauty community since 2012, sharing her reviews, tips and tutorials on social media. Her expertise has earned her recognition as a repeat judge for the Glamour Beauty Awards and features in publications like Seventeen Magazine and Allure Magazine. When she’s not playing with makeup, you can find her curled up with a book and her two cats, alongside her gamer husband. Connect with her on Instagram.
The One Thing Missing From Every Summer Skin Care Routine
If your summer skin care struggles include feeling slick with sweat and oil in the heat, yet tight and sensitive after cleansing, this one’s for you.
I always thought that summer meant using less moisturizing products, because I hate the feeling of noticeable products on my face when it’s hot. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that our skin actually needs the most support this time of year, and as we transition our routines from winter to summer, we’re leaving a key component out that should be a year-round staple.
Let’s dive into why your skin may be freaking out this season, and what your summer skin care routine is missing.
What is a Skin Barrier? (And Why Should You Care?)
The skin barrier (also known as the epidermis, or formally called your stratum corneum) is the topmost layer of your skin that protects you from damage and supports hydration. It’s your body’s first defense against environmental stressors and also helps retain and regulate moisture in the skin.
Your skin barrier is a matrix of lipids, with ceramides making up about 50% of it, that holds your skin cells together and keeps moisture sealed in. When it becomes damaged, you may experience more sensitive, reactive skin. Redness, tightness, flaking, stinging, and overall dryness can be a clue that your skin barrier is compromised. This may be a familiar feeling in winter when the weather is more cold and dry, but summer actually poses an even bigger risk… despite feeling dewy in the season’s heat.
Skin Barrier Care is a Year Round Job
Barrier damage doesn’t typically happen overnight. It’s repeated damage, or repeated neglect, adding up to something harder to manage once you do notice it.
Year round, your skin is handling pollution, stress, hormones, and other lifestyle factors like diet that can cause changes in the skin.
What Summer Does to Your Skin Barrier
In summer, increased UV exposure speeds up this process and breaks down the lipids that hold together your skin barrier while also disrupting the skin’s ability to replenish natural ceramides.
Humidity during summer can trick you into thinking your skin is plenty moisturized, but a compromised skin barrier won’t actually hold on to that feeling long term. Plus, spending more time indoors with the air conditioning blasting pulls more moisture out of the skin, and going back and forth between the two completely throws your skin off its cycle.
Simple summer activities such as swimming in the pool or ocean water can disrupt the skin’s pH and strip your skin. You may be tempted to use stronger cleansers to get off sweat and sunscreen while opting for lighter moisturizers.
With the skin barrier providing the first line of defense against the sun, on top of the fact that ceramides decline naturally with age beginning in your 20s, barrier care should be a daily essential, especially in summer.
What Your Summer Skin Care Routine Needs: Ceramides
During summer, you don’t necessarily have to add more steps to your routine, but more intentional ones. Whether you are looking to repair the skin barrier or maintain it, incorporating ceramides is a no-brainer. Not only will they work to keep your skin healthy, but help you achieve the much sought-after glass skin glow.
Using ceramide skin care works to restore what has depleted from the UV exposure, AC cycling, and over-cleansing covered above, while also giving you immediate benefits like hydration and a plumping effect as they lock in moisture and prevent transepidermal water loss.
What do Ceramides Do for Skin?
Think of ceramides as the grout between tiles… the tiles being your skin cells. When they’re lacking, you may feel like your face is perpetually dry and reactive, even when using moisturizers regularly. But a run-of-the-mill moisturizer is not the same as a ceramide cream. Most moisturizers work as humectants by attracting water into the skin like hyaluronic acid, but ceramides are what keep moisture from escaping. Without ceramides, no matter how much moisturizer you apply, your skin won’t retain it.
There are several different types of ceramides that each have different functions within the skin barrier structure, which is why multi-ceramide skin care formulas are key.
The Ceramide Dynamic Duo
Just two products have been a lifesaver for my own skin: the haruharu Wonder Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence and the Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream.
The Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence is a lightweight milky formula that combines the power of ceramide, probiotics and panthenol to moisturize, soothe, improve skin texture and help it retain moisture. It’s clinically proven to boost hydration by 33%+ and strengthen the skin barrier by 21%+ in just two weeks, making it a great choice if you need to repair the skin barrier after damage.
In my experience as someone with textured and acne prone skin, the gentle exfoliation from the probiotics and brightening power of the antioxidants have also helped me achieve a more even skin tone and clearer complexion. I use this essence twice a day after cleansing while the skin is still damp. It boosts hydration without feeling heavy or sticky, perfect for summer skin care routines, and layers perfectly with SPF and makeup (no pilling ever!). Consider it your prep & protect step that gives the rest of your routine a foundation to build on.
Follow up your essence with the Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream. Structured for easy absorption, the 5 Ceramide Complex Capsules in the formula work together to improve barrier strength in just two weeks while improving hydration by over 35% and offer fast, all day deep moisture. This is an excellent barrier cream for those with sensitive skin as the allantoin and vitamin E in the formula calm irritation while also boosting skin elasticity. It feels luxe, but never too heavy, giving all skin types exactly what they need. Because it contains five distinct ceramides, it addresses the full spectrum of skin barrier repair and locks in your other moisturizing products. It re-grouts the tile, so to speak, of your skin cells.
Together, these products help fortify and repair the skin barrier to give you your best summer glow. Use them AM and PM for an effective, simple routine paired with your favorite cleanser and SPFs.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in skin care trends like the 12-step routine, or popular ingredients that seem to show up in everything. But ceramides are what your skin needs, because it’s what’s already there holding everything together. Your skin has always needed them, summer just makes that impossible to ignore.
Meet the Author
Miranda has been a trusted voice in the online beauty community since 2012, sharing her reviews, tips and tutorials on social media. Her expertise has earned her recognition as a repeat judge for the Glamour Beauty Awards and features in publications like Seventeen Magazine and Allure Magazine. When she’s not playing with makeup, you can find her curled up with a book and her two cats, alongside her gamer husband. Connect with her on Instagram.