Why Skincare Matters Both Inside and Out

How you protect and nourish your skin plays an important role in keeping your complexion looking healthy and youthful. A consistent skincare routine has benefits that go below the surface while targeted nutrition supports your skin from the inside out.   

The outermost layer of the skin, known as the stratum corneum , forms a protective barrier built of specialized proteins and lipids that helps seal in moisture and shield us from harmful bacteria and damaging UV rays from the sun (1). Over time, skin naturally becomes thinner and drier, but accumulated sun damage, cleansers that strip the skin’s natural moisture barrier, and other factors can accelerate drying and impact skin tone and texture. Skin dryness also accentuates the look of fine lines and wrinkles.  

These changes can leave you feeling less confident in your appearance and less comfortable in your own skin. The right skincare routine can keep your skin looking and feeling its best. Ensuring skin is clean, hydrated, and moisturized will help in maintaining a strong protective skin barrier (2,3).  

Cleansing your skin of old skin cells and impurities is the first step in every skincare routine. Yet typical cleansers can leave your skin feeling uncomfortably dry. Support your skin’s natural moisture barrier by using a gentle cleanser that will not strip the skin’s protective lipid barrier (4). The best time to apply intensive treatment products such as serums or toners is after cleansing since freshly cleansed skin allows the ingredients in these products to be absorbed most easily.  

Next, using a daily moisturizer can help build your skin’s moisture barrier and keep your skin feeling hydrated. Choosing products with ingredients such as ceramides and hyaluronic acid can help strengthen your skin’s protective barrier. Ceramides are fatty molecules found naturally in our skin. Applying ceramides topically help improve and restore the skin’s barrier function and lock in moisture (5). Hyaluronic acid is a moisture-loving substance also found naturally throughout the body. When applied topically in a moisturizer, it helps retain surface-level moisture and is a highly effective skincare ingredient (6).   

After cleansing and moisturizing with skin-supporting products at the surface, it’s time to care for your skin from the inside with targeted nutrition and proper hydration.   

The deep layers of the skin are comprised mainly of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. These elements create structure and resilience while enabling the skin to maintain hydration. Drinking water during the day is essential but other factors also impact hydration within our skin. Collagen peptides are a well-studied ingredient for their moisture-enhancing benefits (7).  

In one high-quality clinical study, participants who took one gram of collagen peptides daily had significantly greater skin hydration after 12 weeks compared to participants who took a placebo.   Researchers attributed the increase in skin hydration to the benefits of collagen peptides for increasing hyaluronic acid production, helping to hold water within the skin (8). This increase in skin hydration led to improved skin elasticity and a diminished appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  

Although we cannot completely avoid the effects environmental stressors and aging have on our skin, we can keep skin looking and feeling healthy by giving it protection and nourishment. No matter your age, it’s never too late to start a skincare routine. Daily cleansing, intensive treatments, and hydrating moisturizers will protect your skin’s moisture barrier and leave it feeling soft, healthy, and radiant. Targeted, skin-loving nutrients like collagen peptides help to boost moisture from within for a smoother, more youthful-looking complexion.   

Murphrey MB, Miao JH, Zito PM. Histology, Stratum Corneum. [Updated 2021 Nov 19]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513299/  
Nolan K, Marmur E. Moisturizers: reality and the skin benefits. Dermatol Ther. 2012 May-Jun;25(3):229-33.   
Rodan K, Fields K, Majewski G, et al. Skincare Bootcamp: The Evolving Role of Skincare. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2016 Dec 14;4(12 Suppl Anatomy and Safety in Cosmetic Medicine: Cosmetic Bootcamp):e1152.  
Ananthapadmanabhan KP, Moore DJ, Subramanyan K, Misra M, Meyer F. Cleansing without compromise: the impact of cleansers on the skin barrier and the technology of mild cleansing. Dermatol Ther. 2004;17 Suppl 1:16-25.    
Meckfessel MH, Brandt S. The structure, function, and importance of ceramides in skin and their use as therapeutic agents in skin-care products. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014 Jul;71(1):177-84.    
Liu K. The hype on hyaluronic acid [Internet]. 2020 [cited on 2021 Nov 18]. Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-hype-on-hyaluronic-acid-2020012318653   
Sibilla S, Godfrey M, Brewer S, et. al. An Overview of the Beneficial Effects of Hydrolysed Collagen as a Nutraceutical on Skin Properties: Scientific Background and Clinical Studies. J. Open Nutraceuticals. 2015; 8:29-42.    
Kim DU, Chung HC, Choi J, et. al. Oral Intake of Low-Molecular-Weight Collagen Peptide Improves Hydration, Elasticity, and Wrinkling in Human Skin: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Nutrients. 2018 Jun;10(7):826.    

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