Let’s talk Ceramides! Mainly because everyone needs this skincare ingredient in their routine, including us beauties with acne-prone skin. I too ignored this ingredient for the longest time because I was convinced that my skin needed special acne-specific skincare. At the time my skin felt clearer than ever before because I would use only natural products and never really began using skincare actives in my daily routine. But the moment I started using stuff like retinol, salicylic acid, and vitamin C a lot more frequently, I realised that when my breakouts would come back, they were more troublesome than ever before. And I wondered why the pimples wouldn’t go away as easily as they did before. On closer inspection, I understood that my skin’s barrier had taken a lot of damage. To the point that it lost its ability to heal itself at the rapid pace that it could before. I had to repair the barrier or else there was no hope for my skin to fully recover from any breakout going forward. And that’s when Ceramides came to my rescue.
What Are Ceramides?
Ceramides are basically the building blocks of the skin. They are naturally found in your skin and they help in healing and building back damaged skin barriers. The skincare industry also uses derived Ceramides in their formulations to help with topical skin barrier repair because lord knows we need these kinds of products.
Why Ceramides?
Because when you use active ingredients in your skincare, they can sometimes overwhelm and damage your skin, especially if used too much or too often. Ceramides help reverse the damage and build your skin’s defences so that it is healthy and not prone to sensitivity. Ceramides literally help build healthy skin cells so that your skin is soft and the pH levels are balanced. It can also help heal broken skin in the aftermath of breakouts.
How Did Ceramides Help Treat My Acne?
When I needed to break free from a stubborn breakout, my regular salicylic acid products that would otherwise work were feeling too harsh. I couldn’t even think of using retinol. And even hyaluronic acid didn’t seem to fully help. The reason why my skin wasn’t dealing well with my regular acne treatment products was that these very products can make your skin prone to dryness, regardless of your skin type being oily or normal. This means the topical acne products caused a skin barrier dysfunction because I didn’t include barrier repair products like the ones with ceramides in my routine. And especially since I have a combination skin type, the barrier dysfunction was much worse.
The Cut Backs
The moment I cut back on the acne treatment products and gave my skin treatment with natural products that did not contain any percentage actives, the breakouts didn’t get worse but they didn’t get better either.
The Saviour
I started using a Ceramide cream and it instantly soothed my troubled skin. The cream was unlike any gel moisturiser I would usually use, but my skin ate it up and was satisfied. I noticed that the Ceramide cream was moisturising my skin but it never made it greasy and that was already impressive. The pimples on my skin felt less irritating and my skin felt soft and supple. I continued to use Ceramide creams regularly for 3 to 4 days every week and it helped heal my skin completely. Instead of using string acne treatment products like salicylic acid, I used niacinamide on the remaining days to help clear up the congested pores and acne. This balanced skincare approach with Ceramides helped reverse all the skin damage I was facing and it actually felt amazing.
Conclusion
Yes, my acne does still require acne treatment products, but it also requires Ceramides too. Cycling my products with an active ingredient for the first 2 to 3 days of the week and then swapping them for only a Ceramide cream after cleansing and toning on every other day is what is keeping my skincare game strong
Featured Image: Pexels
