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What Are Skin Lipids?
Skin lipids are the naturally occurring "good fats" found within the skin that play an important role in keeping skin looking balanced and comfortable. While our bodies produce them naturally, their levels can change over time – which is why many skincare routines focus on supporting and replenishing the look and feel of skin's moisture balance with thoughtfully formulated products (more on that below).
What Do Lipids Do for the Skin?
Lipids are key to maintaining the appearance of the skin’s moisture barrier, helping skin retain hydration and look smooth, supple, and resilient. When skin appears well supported by lipids, it often looks firmer, more elastic, and more even in tone and texture.
Over time, the skin’s natural lipid levels may become less noticeable, which can make hydration and comfort more of a focus in your routine.
The X Factors of The Skin Lipid Barrier
In addition to natural changes over time, factors like diet, alcohol consumption, smoking, stress, and environmental exposure – including pollution – can influence how skin looks and feels.
Layers of Skin, Like a Brick Wall
Think of skin like a brick wall. The “bricks” are your skin cells, and lipids act like the mortar that helps everything appear smooth, supported, and well-structured. When skin’s lipid levels feel depleted, the surface of the skin may appear less firm, less full, and more prone to looking dull or dry.
Lipid Barrier Strength Matters
When skin’s lipid barrier looks well supported, it helps skin appear more hydrated, balanced, and comfortable — even in the face of everyday environmental stressors. When that support feels compromised, skin may appear drier, less resilient, and more easily affected by its surroundings.
Ever wonder why it sometimes feels like teens can live on fried food and sugar, and then everything changes in your late 20s? That’s the natural combination of time and lifestyle showing up in how our skin looks and responds.
The Magic Ratio
Three key lipids that help fortify the skin’s protective moisture barrier are:
- Ceramides - help support skin’s moisture balance
- Cholesterol - contributes to the look of supple, resilient skin (and is different from cholesterol in the bloodstream)
- Fatty Acids - help skin feel balanced and comfortable
These lipids are naturally found in the skin in a 1:2:1 ratio, which has become a popular reference point in skincare formulation. We can help replenish these lipids most effectively by applying topicals with not only these lipids, but lipids served up in this ratio. Lipid-rich skincare products that include these lipids in similar proportions help support the look and feel of skin’s moisture balance.
You may have heard comparisons to ingredients like jojoba oil, which are well-loved in skincare for how naturally they blend into routines and help skin feel comfortable, soft, and well supported.
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