1. What is skin immunity?
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a. What is the immune system?
2. How to improve skin immunity
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a. Why is sunscreen important for skin immunity?
3. What should I eat to have healthy skin?
4. What vitamins promote healthy skin?
The beauty industry may thrive on newness, but this year we’ve seen a focus on the basics—with special attention put on skin health. In response to the aggravators that have plagued us over the last few years—we’re looking at you, face masks, excessive blue-light exposure and stress—there’s an increased awareness of our skin’s health, and with this focus, a new buzzword has emerged: skinmunity, otherwise known as skin immunity.
Our skin is the first line of defence; it protects the body from antigens and infections, but skin immunity is more than skin deep. Here, we explain its importance, how it affects your appearance and how to boost it.
1. What is skin immunity?
For starters, your immune system isn’t one single thing—it’s a highly evolved, complicated system. Everyone’s immune system is different, but, as a general rule, it becomes stronger during adulthood because adults have been exposed to more pathogens and developed more immunity.
If you’re wondering how skin is part of the immune system equation, consider it the bodyguard whose job it is to block your insides of every threat you come into contact with—keeping the good stuff (like moisture) in and the bad stuff (like pathogens and pollution) out.
Our skin also has a certain level of immunity so it can stay strong and intact. Boosting our skin immunity is the act of strengthening the skin barrier so it can be optimal at filtering out all of the bad and hanging onto the good. Our skin also has specialized cells (Langerhans cells and T cells) to fight various infectious sources and melanocytes. For even more protection, the outer layer possesses a waxy, oily cover, known as the “acid mantle,” that shields against free-radical damage while helping maintain hydration to keep the barrier intact.
The skin barrier, a key defensive feature, is made up of the epidermis, the outermost surface of your skin. Its structure—a tightly packed collection of cells held together by lipids and ceramide—serves to regulate water levels within the deeper layers of the skin, but its most important role is that of protector. It is not only your filter but also a shield. It’s your first line of defence against water loss and environmental aggressors, but to function effectively, it, too, must remain well hydrated.
a. What is the immune system?
Our immune system is essential to survival. It protects our bodies from outside invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and toxins. Our immune system is made up of different organs, cells and proteins that work together. Some of its key functions and tools to protect us include white blood cells (also known as leukocytes) and phagocytes; phagocytes track down and destroy pathogens, while lymphocytes produce antibodies and can be used to fight infections caused by bacteria.
2. How to improve skin immunity
As we’ve learned, our skin has many defence mechanisms; however, they can be easily thrown off balance due to factors of the exposome. Luckily, there are numerous ways to boost your barrier and skin immunity.
First, don’t overstrip skin of its oils when you cleanse. This can weaken the skin’s acid mantle and throw the microbiome out of balance. Instead, opt for a gentle face cleanser.
Use a serum or ampoule that’s packed with topical antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E. When used daily, the duo can boost your skin immunity and neutralize external stressors such as UV rays. The best vitamin c serum ampoule is Vichy LiftActiv Specialist Peptide-C Ampoules. Each vial contains 10% pure vitamin C, plant-based phyto peptides and hyaluronic acid to target collagen loss and reduce the appearance of fine lines. Then there is Vichy LiftActiv Vitamin C with Hyaluronic Acid, which is spiked with 15% pure vitamin C and vitamin E and also contains a healthy dose of hydrating hyaluronic acid.
Finally, stock up on a soothing formula like the best fractionated probiotic serum or the best hyaluronic acid serum. Vichy Minéral 89 Probiotic Fractions is specifically formulated to improve barrier function and restore stressed-out skin. Finish off your routine with a heavier facial moisturizer chock full of tried-and-true moisturizing ingredients like ceramides, which are the glow-getting gold standard of the skincare world. They act like cement between our cells and help maintain the integrity of the barrier. Hyaluronic acid remains a hero intended for all skin types, even sensitive skin.
a. Why is sunscreen important for skin immunity?
Certain factors can weaken our skin immunity (and barrier) making the bonds between our cells less sturdy, which makes our skin more prone to irritation, infection and other conditions. Some of these factors include pollution, overwashing, harsh ingredients and ultraviolet radiation. UV rays suppress the immune system, allowing antigens to pass through, increasing free-radical damage and even stimulating the release of precancerous cells.
The best defence against UV rays—and boosting your skin immunity—is a broad-spectrum sunscreen for face with 30 SPF or higher applied daily. If it’s not broad-spectrum (which protects against both UVA and UVB rays), the energy from the radiation goes into our fat and proteins. This generates free radicals, which attack cellular machinery. In the short term, that damage triggers an inflammatory response such as sunburn. In the long term, the radiation can introduce mutations in your skin cells’ DNA. If these mutations get passed along, they create cancer cells.
3. What should I eat to have healthy skin?
If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s any truth to the phrase “You are what you eat,” the answer is yes—when it comes to your skin. Try to introduce selenium-rich foods into your diet, as it can help the body neutralize free radicals, which can damage collagen and elastin in the skin. It can be found in lean meat, fish and eggs, and you can add it to your diet by taking nutritional yeast, which is also full of those vital B vitamins that give your skin a beauty boost.
Strengthen your immune system by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants. Look for foods that have a high oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) value, such as pomegranates, elderberries, blueberries and cranberries. Pomegranates are also high in vitamin C, vital in boosting immunity. Try adding ginseng to your diet, as it is also an increasingly popular ingredient for those seeking to boost their immune response.
4. What vitamins promote healthy skin?
For many of us, it’s a daily ritual to pop a vitamin or two. Those pills or powders top up our nutrients and lay the groundwork for overall health, including keeping our immune system in good working order.
Certain vitamin and mineral supplements can absolutely be beneficial to correct deficiencies. Supplements can bring these deficiencies back up to the baseline so that our immune systems can function properly. However, the goal should be consuming all these important nutrients and vitamins from a well balanced diet. Before taking any supplements and vitamins consult with your family doctor.
Some of the most studied vitamins to consider speaking with a healthcare professional about are vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin D. Vitamin C is one of the biggest immune-system boosters of all. A lack of vitamin C can make you more prone to getting sick. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and as for vitamin D, adults who have low levels are more likely to report having had a recent cough, cold or upper respiratory tract infection.
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