The skin is an amazing and very honest organ. It shows what’s happening internally, for better or worse. When we look closely at the different mechanisms of the skin, it’s easy to see how there can be a quick spiral into compromised function and increased susceptibility to infection when they aren’t functioning optimally.
In my Clear Skin Formula™, the main elements I look at in regards to skin health are:
Deficiencies associated with poor skin function
Microbiome of the skin
Congestion
Skin barrier function
Whilst breaking down all the mechanisms of the skin can show off the complexity of the organ, sometimes there are very simple things going wrong or being missed which is contributing to a cascade of consequences in skin function. Here, we are going to focus on skin barrier function, because it’s literally always a problem in acne and eczema (and many other skin conditions), yet very few people I talk to know anything about it.
The Skin Barrier
The skin barrier is the outermost layer of the epidermis, and is formed by the compaction of healthy corneocytes (fancy word for matured skin cells), coupled with a hydrophilic (fancy word for water resistant) layer of sebum (fancy word for skin oil) which is essentially squeezed out of the corneocytes as they compact. These are referred to as epidermal lipids, which create the lipid bilayer of the skin, and are essential in maintaining elasticity of the skin, controlling the permeability of the skin, as well as protecting the skin from environmental toxins and allergens like dust and germs.
Be aware that the lipid bilayer is just one of the mechanisms of the skin barrier. There are many other mechanisms that contribute to healthy or unhealthy skin depending on how they are functioning. But the lipid bilayer is where we see the most obvious deficiencies, specifically in omega-3 (also called essential fatty acids).
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids are one of the key ingredients in maintaining a healthy lipid bilayer or skin barrier. Essential fatty acids make up all cell membranes, and play an important role in the differentiation of the cells that make up our skin barrier. A lack of essential fatty acids can contribute to poor cell function of corneocytes, increased water loss from the skin (referred to as transepidermal water loss) and increased cell shedding, as seen in eczema and dermatitis. On the opposite end of the spectrum, essential fatty acid deficiency can also cause hyperkeratinisation, which is a lack of healthy cell shedding that goes on to block the hair follicle and cause acne.
Essential fatty acid deficiency is surprisingly easy to acquire, given that most people have limited exposure to dietary sources (of which the ultimate is wild caught deep sea fish), and research shows that an essential fatty acid deficiency can develop in just 7-12 days where there is no dietary exposure. Outside of the cost of good quality, wild caught fish, there is the toxicity issue that we face with farmed fish (especially farmed salmon) as well as the concentration of EPA/DHA (the active constituents of fish oil) required to improve a deficiency. For example, one tin of tuna is equivalent to about 1/5th of what is in a high quality fish oil supplement but you are potentially being exposed to heavy metal contaminants.
This is why I opt for high concentration, purified fish oil supplements over relying on dietary sources. They are simply cheaper, more effective and can provide a more predictable outcome when we know exactly the amount you are ingesting.
In clinic, I have seen problem skin improve dramatically with simple essential fatty acid support due to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, as well as the impact it has on restoring skin barrier function. This is why I focus closely in clinic on correcting deficiencies that are so common to see in the development of problem skin.
This is a before and after photo of a patient who used my E/FA Pure for 4 weeks before starting her personalised treatment with me. When I see results like this, it’s always a good reminder that our body is incredibly clever; sometimes it’s just missing some key ingredients in order to do its job properly.
Want to see what essential fatty acids can do for your skin? Check out my signature E/FA Pure, designed with purity and concentration in mind for best results.
E/FA Pure are one of the highest concentration fish oils on the market, and are naturally preserved with Vitamin E to increase antioxidant benefits and negate the need for preservatives like sulfites, which can be problematic for hypersensitive people.
For the love of skin!
Em (Founder, Naturopath, Skin-thusiast)
