1. Does nearly every product you try, even those labeled “non-comedogenic”, cause more breakouts or a skin reaction?
This is a sign of a disrupted skin barrier, which results in low-grade inflammation in the skin, leading to more congestion and breakouts.
2. The skin barrier is “leaky” and allows the entry of substances into the skin that are immunologically reactive.
This promotes the increased production of inflammatory molecules in the skin. Some, like the 1L-1 cytokine family, are linked to acne information.
3. Cytokine plays a major role in inflammatory and immunoregulatory responses.
Skin, and particularly keratinocytes contribute to the pathogenesis of many inflammatory skin diseases including acne.
4. To tolerate more skincare products and reap more benefits from them, you must first heal your skin barrier.
This generally means supporting the skin's innate repair mechanisms by providing plenty of nutrients, like high-quality protein and fats, and reducing the use of skincare actives.
5. Finally, even products that don't have any ingredients we consider “comedogenic” may still have irritating ingredients.
These raise inflammation in the skin, which leads to a disrupted skin barrier and then to the same issues mentioned previously.
We are often fixated on “comedogenic” or “pore-clogging” ingredients, but in my experience, irritation and skin barrier disruption are more often a cause of more congestion and breakouts.
This becomes especially apparent if you start to react to even gentle, non-irritating, and truly non-comedogenic products.
The reason is that a disrupted skin barrier is leaky and allows for entry of substances deeper into your skin(where they shouldn’t be able to be) and this stimulates immune response and production of inflammatory molecules like cytokines.
Cytokines are implicated in different inflammatory skin conditions, including acne.
To conclude, if nearly everything breaks you out, it isn’t usually an issue with the products themselves but the skin barrier dysfunction.
Once you repair the skin barrier you will generally be able to tolerate (and reap benefits from) many more products.
Much love and skin healing,
Sara
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