So you’re fueling your skin internally—great first step—but you’ll also want to protect your strengthened skin with the right topicals. By this we mean: increased barrier support and environmental protections, like antioxidants and SPF.
In short: Your skin barrier is what makes skin strong. “It protects us from mechanical injury, low humidity, cold, heat, sun, wind, chemical exposure, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens,” explains board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D., stating that, “a healthy barrier is critical to normal skin function.” So you must make sure that you’re aiding it with the right products, like natural emollients, lipids, and botanicals that soothe inflammation. A few good topical ingredients to look for are squalane, shea butter, aloe vera, as well as biome-supporting ingredients like pre-, pro-, and post-biotics.
As for environmental protectants, you should of course always protect it from sun damage from mineral sunscreens, like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Then load up on antioxidants here, too, to bolster the free-radical fighting properties of the skin: vitamin C, E, and coenzyme Coq 10.