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At Eighteen B, we are inspired by the skin’s barrier and design our products to support and nourish this part of your skin.
The skin’s barrier function is the outermost layer of your skin. It’s also known as the stratum corneum. It has a complex structure and performs important functions for your overall health.
At Eighteen B, we get our inspiration from the skin’s barrier and design products to support and nourish this part of your skin. We recommend reinforcing your barrier with our Firm + Replenish Serum, clinically shown to support healthy skin.
CHECK OUT more on the skin’s anatomy here
Complex Composition and Structure
The skin’s barrier structure is similar to a “brick-and-mortar wall”, with skin cells stacked and held together by lipids and fats. It is a very complex structure but generally speaking it has the following composition:
CELLS called corneocytes: These cells are tightly bound together (think the most formidable red rover line ever) and provide structural integrity to your barrier function. These are the “bricks” in the “brick-and-mortar wall” analogy.
LIPIDS: These lipids (including ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids) exist in a thin layer between the cells to provide a very effective barrier to the passage of precious hydration. This is the “mortar” in the “brick-and-mortar wall” analogy.
NMF (natural moisturizing factor): a complex mixture of water-soluble compounds, which fill up the insides of the corneocytes. Collectively, the NMF components have the ability to bind water against the desiccating action of the environment and thereby maintain skin hydration.
ACID MANTLE: The acid mantle is a thin film made of natural oils, sebum, and sweat that sits on top of the skin. The slightly acidic pH of your skin barrier helps to fight off unwanted microbes.
MICROBIOME: This the population of good microbes that sit on your skin surface and help to fight off unwanted microbes.
Very Important Function
A healthy skin barrier performs two very important functions. First, it helps your skin retain moisture by preventing water loss from deeper skin layers. Second, it helps protect your skin from harsh elements like UV rays, pollutants, microbes, and chemicals.
The health of your skin barrier’s function is a direct result of many factors. This includes nutrition, age, your daily skincare routine, and your surrounding environment. Over time, the barrier starts degrading and gets weaker and a little worse at performing its function. To further complicate matters, every time you cleanse, fats and lipids are stripped from the skin, weakening the skin’s barrier function. This brings on moisture loss, and lets in external aggravators, which further damage the deeper layers of skin by breaking down structural proteins like collagen and elastin.
The Skin’s Barrier and the Eighteen B Serum
When we design our products, the skin barrier is our inspiration. This means we incorporate ingredients that supplement and reinforce your natural skin’s barrier for better health. The Firm + Replenish Serum is our flagship product and your barrier’s best friend. It includes:
NMF
Our Serum is packed with Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF), a cocktail of Amino Acids, Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, and more that the skin naturally creates to keep the stratum corneum and epidermis hydrated. Our Serum delivers a potent dose of NMF so your skin doesn’t need to work so hard to replenish these ingredients on its own.
Ceramides
Ceramides are essential lipids that help restore skin integrity and elasticity, fortify the skin barrier, and make the skin look plump and firm. They are naturally produced by the skin, but can be depleted by cleansing, chemicals, and environmental factors. Firm + Replenish Serum contains three types of naturally-occurring ceramides: Ceramide AP, EOP, and NP. All of these have a slightly different molecular structure and work in concert to support barrier function.
B-silk™ protein
Our proprietary ingredient forms a lightweight, breathable barrier that locks moisture in and keeps environmental factors at bay. When B-SILK™ PROTEIN is applied, silk molecules lock together to form an invisible film on the surface of your skin. Unlike many other barrier-forming ingredients, the silk proteins, and our vegan silk skincare are not greasy and allow your skin to perform its function while providing vital reinforcement. Read more about b-silk™ protein here.
Clinical Evidence
We put our Serum to the test! In a 12-week study the serum showed a 2x improvement over the moisturizer-only control for firmness and elasticity as measured quantitatively by cutometer. Expert grading showed statistical improvement compared to the moisturizer-only control for improvements in the appearance of skin lifting, lines and wrinkles, and overall skin health. There is no negative effect on the skin pH and microbiome. Science for the win!
