Repairing a Compromised Skin Barrier in Dermatitis: Leveraging the Skin’s Ability to Heal Itself

Abstract

Skin barrier defects play a major role in many dermatoses including irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, dry skin, aged skin, xerosis, rosacea, acne and more. Skin barrier repair technology has heretofore focused on physiologic skin lipid replacement and skin protection without addressing the myriad other areas of compromise such as an elevated pH, balance of the microbiome, inflammation, succeptibility to infection, aberrant calcium gradients and the proclivity for contact sensitization. By changing the paradigm from physiologic skin lipid supplementation to that of supplementing the epidermis with lipids that have recently been found to be particularly deficient from the disrupted skin barrier, and by simultaneously addressing the many facets of vulnerability, the skin barrier can be effectively repaired. This model of advanced skin barrier repair wherein physiologic deficiencies are supplemented and/or augmented may be an effective method for restoring the ability of xerotic and dermatitic skin to heal itself.