Key Takeaways
- The best skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier entails cleaning, toning, treating with hydrating, nourishing, and soothing ingredients, moisturizing, and sun protection.
- Part of how to strengthen the skin barrier on the face is to skip strong actives until healing is complete and steer clear of harsh products, harsh exfoliation, overcleansing, and hot water.
- It’s vital that you stick to products made for your skin type.
When your skin starts acting up with redness, dryness, dullness, or sensitivity, it’s only natural to reach for every quick fix in sight. But a stable, barrier-supporting routine is what you really need to turn things around.
A weak barrier doesn’t need more stress. A gentle, rejuvenating care regimen is how to strengthen the skin barrier on the face, calm things down, and bring back your glow. In this step-by-step guide, we share the best skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier.
1. Cleansing
The simplest way to start rebuilding a calmer, stronger barrier is to keep the skin free of dirt and oil buildup. This gives the skin breathing room to heal. Harsh, foaming cleansers with sulfates are the last thing you want here. They strip away natural oils, leaving the skin even more vulnerable.
Switch to mild, pH-balanced, non-stripping formulas like Lea Black Beauty® Skin Revitalizing Daily Face Wash will help lift away impurities while preserving the lipids your skin needs to protect itself.

2. Toning
It used to be that toners were used to prep the skin to absorb the next products better. But nowadays, most offer a myriad of benefits. While it’s optional, this is a subtle step that can make all the difference in a skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier.
It might come as a surprise, but your skin needs to maintain a slightly acidic pH to stay healthy. And the smallest imbalance after cleansing can upset an already compromised barrier. A gentle, balancing toner, like the Lea Black Beauty® Brighten & Balance 200mg CBD Skin Toner, can help restore it and rehydrate freshly cleaned skin.
3. Treating with Barrier-Supporting Ingredients

A damaged barrier is low in moisture and natural building blocks, including lipids such as ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids, which are necessary for keeping skin hydrated and blocking external irritants.
A key part of how to strengthen the skin barrier on the face is feeding it barrier-loving ingredients that help it rebuild itself day by day. A good skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier includes ingredients that hydrate and replenish lost nutrients while soothing the barrier.
Hydrating Ingredients
Help restore lost moisture and lock it in by including glycerin, hyaluronic acid, beta-glucan, and sodium PCA.
Nourishing Ingredients
Help replenish lost nutrients and strengthen the barrier by including ceramides, peptides, niacinamide (low %), squalane, fatty acids, and cholesterol.
Soothing Ingredients
A damaged barrier needs some TLC to reduce irritation and sensitivity. Look out for aloe vera, CBD, CICA, green tea extract, chamomile, panthenol, oat extract, and licorice root.
Switching to serums, essences, masks, and other products that bring these ingredients into your skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier is the best move during this healing time. Try Lea Black Beauty® Hyaluronic Hydra-Gel Eye Patches and Lea Black Beauty® Hyaluronic Hydrogel Treasure Chest Pads, formulated to deliver hydration and nutrients to your delicate skin areas so they can bounce back.
4. Moisturizing
A damaged barrier struggles to retain hydration. That’s where a moisturizer comes to the rescue. They don’t just hydrate but also seal in moisture, restore lipids, and strengthen the barrier. If there’s one step you shouldn’t skip, it’s this one.
A good skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier uses gentle moisturizers that pack soothing and nourishing ingredients, like Lea Black Beauty® CBD Face Moisturizer or Lea Black Beauty® Sudden Youth® 500mg CBD Intensive Moisture Renewal Cream enriched with CBD, facial oils, aloe, and green tea extract.

5. Protecting
A compromised barrier is sensitive to sunlight, which can trigger increased redness, irritation, or dryness. So, no barrier-repair routine is really complete without daily protection. Go for broad-spectrum SPF 30+ mineral formulas that shield against both UVA and UVB.
Things to Avoid For a Damaged Skin Barrier
A good skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier isn’t just about doing the good stuff, but also ditching the bad stuff. Part of how to strengthen the skin barrier on the face is stepping back from any habits and ingredients that cause stress. These include:
- Over-Exfoliation: Using exfoliating acids frequently or in high concentrations only weakens your barrier, and so does harsh scrubbing.
- Overcleansing: Cleansing shouldn’t have to be a battle. You’re only stripping natural oils, leaving you dry and prone to more irritation.
- Hot Water: This doesn’t just strip the skin dry but also irritates an already hurting barrier. Stick to lukewarm water.
- Strong Actives: While they’re great, you may want to lay off strong actives like retinoids, vitamin C, and vitamin E when repairing a damaged barrier, just until things settle.
- Harsh Products: Products with sulfates, parabens, fragrances, strong alcohols, and harsh chemicals can make it hard for the barrier to heal.
Keeping a simple skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier is how to restore calm and balance.
What are the Best Products for Protecting the Skin Barrier?
Healing starts with using the right products made for your needs. These support the barrier instead of stressing it. So, sticking with products made for your skin type is how to strengthen the skin barrier on the face.
Dry Skin
For a dry skin routine, prioritize rich, creamy formulas like Lea Black Beauty® Sudden Youth® 1000mg Nourishing Cannabis Sativa Oil, packed with humectants and facial oils to help lock in hydration.
Oily/combination Skin
Lightweight, non-comedogenic formulas that hydrate and nourish the barrier without stripping are what you need in your oily skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier.
Sensitive skin
For a sensitive skin routine, double down on calming ingredients and products free from harsh chemicals proven to irritate.
Aging Skin
For an aging skin routine, actives that hydrate, protect against environmental stressors, and foster skin renewal and regeneration are your best friends. Try Lea Black Beauty® Anti-Aging Face Serum with 250mg CBD and Lea Black Beauty® Premium Hemp Soothing Eye Cream.
Not sure where to start? Our sensitive, dry, oily/combination, and aging collections will make your choice easier.
Restore Calm with Lea Black Beauty® Natural Skincare Products
Even after healing, part of how to strengthen the skin barrier on the face is to keep treating with skincare that keeps your skin balanced and happy at all times.
Lea Black Beauty® has what you need to build a solid skincare routine for a damaged skin barrier that promotes healing and long-term protection. Shop our collection of 100% natural skincare products and enjoy a truly luxurious experience with clinically proven results.