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Whatever TikTok trends or buzzy skin-care ingredients are out there, trust us: Don't compromise your barrier in the process. Too late? The best barrier repair creams can help your skin (aka your body’s largest organ) remain healthy and properly moisturized.
For context, our skin's job is to protect us; it acts as a shield to protect the body from external aggressors such as bacteria, pollution, and UV rays. But skin-care products and habits, like harsh chemical exfoliants and cleansing too often (yes, that’s a thing), can inadvertently harm the skin's moisture barrier, which is the outermost layer of the skin (also known as the epidermis) that guards against external stressors. And when not properly protected, "the skin barrier can start to crack, which can leave the skin more vulnerable to free radical damage," Davie, FL-based board-certified dermatologist Lesley Clark-Loeser, MD, tells Allure.
The result? Dry, irritated skin—until you use these derm-approved creams and serums, which are formulated to calm inflammation, redness, and sensitivity. Below, take a look at some of the most effective formulas for addressing barrier damage and comforting compromised skin—you're welcome.
Our Top Picks:
- Best Overall: Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream, $49
- Best for Sensitive Skin: Deinde Barrier-Building Moisture Cream, $64
- Best for Dry Skin: Rhode Barrier Restore Cream, $32
- Best for Redness: Caudalie Premier Cru The Cream, $119
- Best for Oily Skin: SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream, $54
- Best for Eczema: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5, $17
- Best for Dark Spots: KraveBeauty Great Barrier Relief, $28
Frequently Asked Questions
- How does the skin barrier become damaged?
- Which skin barrier repair ingredients should I look out for?
- How often should I use skin barrier products?
- Meet the experts
- How we test and review products
- Our staff and testers
Best Overall: Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream
Why it's worth it: Dr. Jart+’s upgraded version of its beloved Ceramidin Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream contains twice the amount of the brand’s conditioning, ceramide-based 5-Cera Complex to condition and comfort your skin barrier during times of stress. "This cream combines ceramides with hyaluronic acid, a humectant that absorbs water molecules from the environment and deep within the skin for improved skin hydration," says Brendan Camp, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City. It's also chock-full of hydrating panthenol and moisturizing shea butter—but the beauty of its formula is in its fast-absorbing texture that soothes skin without clogging pores, so it’s perfect for acne-prone skin types.
Tester feedback: “My combination skin gets capital-d Dry from external factors, be it freezing winter weather or stale airplane air,” says contributing editor Deanna Pai. “That’s why a travel-size tube of this lives in my toiletry kit. I put it to the ultimate test—a trip to central Missouri in the dead of winter to visit my in-laws—and found that it still kept my skin radiant and comfortable.”
Key ingredients: ceramides, panthenol, shea butter | Fragrance-free: no
Best for Sensitive Skin: Deinde Barrier-Building Moisture Cream
Why it's worth it: Though it’s light in texture, the Deinde Barrier-Building Moisture Cream is formulated to make a major impact on irritated skin. One of its key ingredients is naringenin, an antioxidant polyphenol that minimizes inflammation while providing much-needed moisture to stressed-out skin. To up the ante on its restorative effects, the Barrier-Building Moisture Cream also contains calming hydrators like polysaccharides and hyaluronic acid alongside a moisture-sealing trio of ceramides, phytosterols (a plant-derived form of cholesterol), and fatty acids. These ingredients, which are naturally found in the skin barrier as it is, work to rebuild your outer layer while restoring the hydration that it's lost.
Tester feedback: “I find this cream to be very versatile, gentle, and hydrating,” says Lexi Herrick, senior director of audience development. “It absorbs instantly and can be worn with or without makeup. It leaves my skin feeling very soft and healthy.”
Key ingredients: naringenin, polysaccharides, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, phytosterols (cholesterol), fatty acids | Fragrance-free: yes
Best for Dry Skin: Rhode Barrier Restore Cream
Why it's worth it: The balm-like texture of Rhode’s Barrier Butter leaves skin feeling impeccably soft and smooth, but its benefits go deeper than its sensorial feel. This buttery cream contains five different weights of hyaluronic acid to bind water and hydrate different surface levels of the skin. Ceramides and murumuru butter also make an appearance in this formula for max-strength moisturization while providing an extra layer of protection to your skin’s barrier. Quick tip: If you’re using an intensive active ingredient like retinol in your routine, the ultra-moisturizing Barrier Butter will help ease any active-related irritation with its calming formula.
Tester feedback: “Using tretinoin in the fall and winter makes my skin extra thirsty and sensitive,” says senior editor Jesa Marie Calaor. “It’s truly the most painful time of year for my face but this rich cream is the only product making it bearable. It ensures it stays calm and coddled for hours.”
Key ingredients: hyaluronic acid, ceramides, murmuru butter | Fragrance-free: yes
Best for Redness: Caudalie Premier Cru The Cream
Why it's worth it: If your natural flush leans more fire hydrant-red, tone it down with the cooling Caudalie’s Premier Cru The Cream. A 2022 Allure Best of Beauty Award winner, this cream is super-charged with the brand’s proprietary TET8 technology, an intensive combination of antioxidants resveratrol, honokiol, and viniferine to brighten skin tone and minimize discoloration, paired with hydrating hyaluronic acid and honey-derived sugars. These hydrators also act as anti-inflammatory ingredients that instantly calm the look of blotchy red patches.
Editor's tip: “My face gets tomato-red over anything: the slightest changes in weather, a quick workout, a single glass of wine…even a small tinge of anxiety can make my entire face flush,” says commerce writer Jennifer Hussein. “Caudalie’s cream provides the comfort my constantly-inflamed skin needs while leaving it with a dewy, bouncy appearance.”
Key ingredients: TET8 (resveratrol, honokiol, viniferine), hyaluronic acid, sugar | Fragrance-free: no
More barrier repair creams we love:
Best for Oily Skin: SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream
Why it's worth it: Formulated with a skin-soothing trio of niacinamide, shea butter, and glycerin, this cream is our top pick for anyone with a moisture barrier that’s on the mend but still leans greasy, since its formula is moisturizing and promotes barrier healing without leaving a greasy film behind. Board-certified dermatologist Nazanin Saedi, MD, who is based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania loves SkinFix’s Best of Beauty-winning Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream because it "contains a combination of peptides and lipids to smoothen and strengthen the skin barrier." It’s clearly a derm-favorite, as David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City, has also vouched for its “super creamy and hydrating” formula. “It’s exactly what you need on a cold, dry winter night to restore and repair your skin barrier," he says. We also love this jar’s push-top packaging, which ensures you don't have to dip your finger into the product.
Tester feedback: Allure commerce editor Sarah Han loves both the original and gel-cream variation of this barrier-supporting cream. “The original SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream is fabulous for when my skin needs extra love and hydration but my combo skin adores a gel cream, and its sister product, the Barrier+ Skin Barrier Restoring Gel Cream is truly one of the best—it's soothing, gentle, absorbs like a dream, and doesn't make my sunscreen pill,” she says. “It cuts all the bells and whistles that some moisturizers offer (not always necessary!) and plumps my skin with squalane, niacinamide, saccharide isomerate to bolster my barrier and help refine pores (a constant struggle of mine).”
Key ingredients: niacinamide, peptides, jojoba oil, shea butter, glycerin | Fragrance-free: yes
Best for Eczema: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5
Why it's worth it: When you want the soothing, ultra-conditioning effects of a denser balm without the greasy feel of rdenser formulas, La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Baume B5 will provide the relief you need in a lightweight, cream-like texture. “This balm is rich in panthenol and madecassoside, which help to soothe, repair, and protect the skin's barrier,” says New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Pooja Rambhia, MD. The latter ingredient is a concentrate derived from Centella asiatica, a skin-soothing plant also known as cica. “It’s great for healing irritated skin while providing deep hydration and promoting skin regeneration,” she says of this formula, which also bears the Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association. Though it has a classic balmy texture upon first application, La Roche-Posay’s formula immediately dries down to a matte, velvety finish without any greasy or tacky feel.
Key ingredients: panthenol, madecassoside (Centella asiatica), shea butter | Fragrance-free: yes
Best for Dark Spots: KraveBeauty Great Barrier Relief
Why it's worth it: The creamy, nourishing Great Barrier Relief Serum from KraveBeauty provides a deeply soothing one-two punch as it restores your damaged skin barrier while simultaneously evening out your complexion. It's loaded with reparative ingredients such as tamanu oil, niacinamide, and ceramides, which provide moisture to nourish stressed skin while counteracting discoloration—and it even doubles as a spot treatment in a pinch. To top it all off, the serum is packaged with an airless pump to ensure you get every last drop.
Tester feedback: "The creamy elixir leaves my complexion calm and hydrated with a subtle glow that lasts for hours," says one Allure tester of this soothing serum. “Put simply, it does exactly what it claims to do, and that is to calm, condition, and brighten up the skin without clogging pores or causing irritation.”
Key ingredients: tamanu oil, niacinamide, ceramides | Fragrance-free: yes
Best Fragrance-Free: Vanicream Moisturizing Cream
Why it's worth it: One of the most dermatologist-recommended moisturizers on the market is, without a doubt, Vanicream’s ultra-gentle Moisturizing Cream. Dr. Rambhia, for one, appreciates its mild, gentle feel on sensitive skin—it has a Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association, after all—and its conditioning combination of antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene, sorbitol, and petrolatum. “Free from common allergens, this non-greasy, fragrance-free cream strengthens the skin's barrier by replenishing lipids and preventing moisture loss,” says Dr. Rambhia. “It’s perfect as a barrier restoration cream for those with sensitive skin, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and more.”Its formula may feel thick at first, but once you massage it onto your skin, it instantly dries down to leave skin with a velvety-smooth, non-greasy texture.
Key ingredients: butylated hydroxytoluene, sorbitol, petroleum | Fragrance-free: yes
Best Budget: CeraVe Healing Ointment
Why it's worth it: Unlike your average custardy cream, CeraVe’s Healing Ointment is a thicker, jelly-like treatment that seals in moisture for instant relief from dryness and chafing. “This barrier-repair cream contains essential ceramides and petrolatum to lock in moisture and help restore the skin's protective layer,” Dr. Rambhia says. This budget-friendly ointment’s long-lasting effects, dense texture, and intensive conditioning properties are perfect for dry, compromised skin. As both Massachusetts-based board-certified dermatologist Papri Sarkar, MD, and Washington, D.C.-based board-certified dermatologist Pooja Sodha, MD, previously told Allure, this ointment can also be used on thinner areas of skin such as the lower eyelids and under eyes to combat dryness
Key ingredients: ceramides, petrolatum, hyaluronic acid | Fragrance-free: yes
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the skin barrier become damaged?
"Our skin barrier gets damaged from extreme weather, sun exposure, medical conditions, physical damage such as over-exfoliating, and also age," explains Dr. Saedi. She adds that, over time, ingredients like alcohol and glycolic acid can be abrasive to the skin if overused, which can lead to dermatitis or inflammation of the skin.
Dr. Clark-Loeser's number-one tip: Go easy on the exfoliation. Try simplifying your skin-care routine and minimizing the amount of exfoliants and active ingredients in it in order to maintain a healthy skin barrier. Additionally, the skin barrier can become damaged by frequent hot showers, not using a moisturizer, and certain medications, so take note.
Which skin barrier repair ingredients should I look out for?
A key way to maintain a healthy skin barrier is to add a barrier repair product, which is strategically formulated to address the specific needs of the skin barrier, to your routine. Where traditional moisturizing products provide supplemental hydration to the skin, "barrier repair products help to repair the skin's barrier to help skin better retain moisture and prevent environmental damage," explains Dr. Clark-Loeser. If you're unsure what ingredients to seek out in a barrier repair cream, San Diego-based board-certified dermatologist Melanie Palm, MD, previously told us to look for "ingredients like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, squalane, natural moisturizing factors, and ceramides" for their conditioning properties and soothing benefits.
How often should I use barrier repair products?
Consistency is key. Our experts recommended applying the product at least once a day, ideally after cleansing, to help reinforce the skin's natural protective barrier and keep it hydrated. For those with particularly dry or damaged skin, using the product twice daily can be beneficial in helping to restore and maintain the skin's health. Just remember, it's important to use the product as directed and not overuse it, as this can lead to further irritation.
Meet the experts
- Pooja Rambhia, MD, a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist
- Papri Sarkar, MD, a Massachusetts-based board-certified dermatologist
- Pooja Sodha, MD, aWashington, D.C.-based board-certified dermatologist
- Nazanin Saedi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
- Brendan Camp, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City
- David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City
- Lesley Clark-Loeser, MD, a Davie, Florida-based board-certified dermatologist
- Melanie Palm, MD, a San Diego-based board-certified dermatologist
How we test and review products
When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that's included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.
For our list of the best barrier repair creams, we considered each product's performance across five primary categories: product ingredients and efficacy, packaging, fragrance, texture, and product wear. Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors — along with special consideration from board-certified dermatologists. To learn more information on our reporting and testing processes, read our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors — in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon — is essential to reaching that goal.
After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we've solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We're proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.
More skin-care recommendations for the colder months:
- The 17 Best Moisturizers for Dry Skin All Year Round
- 19 Best Ceramide-Spiked Skin-Care Products to Nourish Dry, Irritated Skin
- 21 Best Body Lotions That Your Skin Will Love Just as Much as We Do
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