LAMELLAR TECHNOLOGY: RESTORING YOUR SKIN BARRIER
Keeping your skin barrier healthy is one of the most important things you can do for your skin. Dull, irritated, flakey, acne prone skin - all of these can be improved by keeping your barrier intact and in balance.
Irritating or harsh ingredients, pollution, over-exfoliation, and pH imbalances can all cause your skin barrier to break down. An unhealthy barrier doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do - moisture escapes and the skin gets dehydrated. On the flip side, your skin may start producing more and more oil to compensate for the lack of hydration. But thanks to advances in skincare development, there is a new, effective way to restore a damaged barrier: lamellar technology.
Never heard of it? Keep reading to see what it does!
Your Skin Barrier, the Gatekeeper
Your skin barrier works hard! Its main job is twofold - to hold moisture in, and keep bacteria and pollutants out. It’s made up of skin cells held together by lipids (ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids), and is the outermost layer of your skin. When it works well, your skin looks and feels good: plump, hydrated, smooth. When it isn’t working well, problems tend to snowball. Your skin gets sensitized, is easily irritated, and gets stripped of its natural oils.
How Does Lamellar Technology Help Your Skin Barrier?
Lamellar technology’s main benefit is effectiveness. Some products tend to sit on the skin, or absorb a little, but only into the top layer of the skin. Lamellar products focus on using stable, long-lasting formulas, and getting them into the lower layers of the skin where they’ll do the most good.
In order to be as compatible with your skin as possible, lamellar formulas mimic your skin barrier, by using alternating layers that imitate the skin’s lipid layer. The skin “recognizes” it, and it replaces the lost lipids in the barrier. Some similar types of technology use water-channeling proteins within the skin to absorb and hydrate deeply.
Because the formula goes beyond the top layer of your skin, it doesn’t evaporate quickly, and can remain effective for a long time. And because it is similar to a ceramide, it holds moisture in the skin.
ATOPALM - Multi-Lamellar Emulsion (MLE)
ATOPALM’s MLE technology was created by Dr. Raymond BD Park, a researcher at Aekyung Central Research Institute. He was looking for something to help his children, who were suffering from atopic dermatitis. Most of the treatments at the time had side effects, which included thinning skin with repeated use.
What he came up with was an effective, ceramide-like product that absorbed super well, and cured the dermatitis. Five years later, ATOPALM was born, with MLE technology as its star.
Want to know more about ATOPALM? Here are some of their top products:
ATOPALM MLE Cream
This cream can be used on both your face and body - anywhere that needs moisture. Vitamin A and botanicals like camellia sinensis seed oil and purslane extract soothe the skin. They’re also high in antioxidants, which protect the skin from outside irritants. Thanks to MLE technology, this cream is ultra long-lasting.
ATOPALM Real Barrier Extreme Cream
If your skin is very dry or your skin barrier needs some serious TLC, this rich cream is for you. MLE technology and ceramide complexes help to replenish a damaged barrier and prevent moisture from escaping. Panthenol, madecassoside, and allantoin protect, while hyaluronic acid and squalane hydrate deeply.
Lagom and DermaFlux
Lagom has developed a technology called “DermaFlux” which also increases the effectiveness of its formulas. It’s based on the 2003 Nobel Prize winning discovery of “aquaporins”, which are proteins in the skin that channel water. By activating these aquaporins, hydration is carried into the lower layer of the skin, where it is retained (instead of evaporating).
Lagom Cellus Mild Moisture Cream
Your skin doesn’t necessarily have to be super dry to need some skin barrier help. For those who have other skin types or slightly dry skin, this cream provides light moisture but uses DermaFlux to keep hydration in. Plant stem cell extracts repair, while witch hazel and centella calm the skin. This moisturizer has a texture somewhere between a cream and a gel, for those looking for a hit of hydration without being too rich.
Korean skincare is only getting more popular, and brands are looking at cutting edge technology to boost their products. Lamellar technology is one way they are working to make everyday skincare more efficient and longer lasting. This is great news for consumers, who get more value and results from their products!