Dry Skin

It helps you warm up when you’re cold and can cool you off when you’re hot, it lets you feel things by touch, it protects you.3b

WHAT IS THIS WONDROUS STUFF?

Your skin, of course!
And what does your skin ask for in return for all the wonderful things it does?
Just a little care and consideration!

• Weather. Skin tends to be driest in winter, when temperatures and humidity levels plummet.
• Heat. Central heating, wood-burning stoves, space heaters and fireplaces all reduce humidity and dry your skin.
• Hot baths and showers. Taking long, hot showers or baths can dry your skin. So can frequent swimming, particularly in heavily chlorinated pools.
• Harsh soaps and detergents. Many popular soaps, detergents and shampoos strip moisture from your skin as they are formulated to remove oil.
• Some skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis can also cause dry skin.

The skin barrier is like a brick wall. The “bricks” (cells) contain proteins and are surrounded by “mortar”(lipids e.g. fats, oils and waxes). Together they form the outermost layer of the skin (stratum corneum).

This barrier helps to keep water within the body and prevent the entrance of other potential irritants.

• Use of emollients can help repair the damage by replacing lost lipids.^6a
• Studies have shown that emollients may reduce the need for topical steroids and enhance the therapeutic response to them.^11c
• Emollients also prevent allergens, irritants and bacteria from penetrating the skin and thereby reduce the development of dry skin conditions (e.g. eczema) or infection.^15c
• A good skin care routine using emollients can soothe, moisturise and protect the skin, so helping to reduce the dry skin conditions e.g. eczema flares.^15a

The following tips will help you to get the most out of your emollient therapy.^15g

• Use your emollient of choice frequently. Ideally, this will be every few hours, but should be at least twice a day, and every few hours if the eczema is flaring. It is recommended that an adult should use at least 500 g per week (at least 250 g for a child).
• Every time you wash or take a bath/shower, pat your skin dry afterwards with a soft towel and immediately re-apply your leave-on emollient.
• Apply emollient gently in the direction of hair growth. Never rub up and down vigorously as this could trigger itching, block hair follicles and create more heat in the skin. It is a good idea to dot blobs of emollient around your limbs and trunk first (you may need someone to help you with your back), as this helps to ensure that all areas of skin are moisturised.

Emollients may be used together with topical steroids, however on its own, it has been shown to reduce itching, redness and dryness of an eczema skin, it may reduce the amount of topical steroids needed to control eczema.^{2a,g,j,15a,e,g}

Dry scaly skin is common in babies, but it can occur at any stage of development. Infant skin is different from adult skin in structure, function, and composition.^8b,18a

During the late foetal period (20 weeks to birth), skin becomes functional and develops a protective barrier.^18b

Although full-term infants are born with a competent skin barrier, their skin is still developing through the first year of life. Ideally, products that are used on infants should not interfere with skin surface pH or perturb the skin barrier.^18b,c,d

Maintaining skin barrier function is essential for survival and critical to preventing organ dehydration.^18g

Emollients have been used for centuries to protect the integrity of the outer skin layer (stratum corneum) and to maintain skin barrier function. Appropriately formulated emollients can preserve, protect, and enhance the infant skin barrier by supplying the stratum corneum with water and lipids and by helping to inhibit water loss. Emollient products containing physiological balance of cholesterol, ceramides and fatty acids are optimal for barrier repair. On the other hand, inappropriately formulated emollients can harm and dehydrate the delicate skin of infants.^{6a,9c,15a,b,c,17a}

Daily use of emollients that are appropriately formulated for use after birth may produce measurable benefits later in life.^18h,i

SBR® REPAIR IS DEVELOPED BY DERMATOLOGISTS^9c

• SBR® Repair contains nanoparticles which allows it to penetrate deeper into the skin and be more effective.^1j
• SBR® Repair contains the 3 most common lipids that are identical to your skin’s own lipids. These lipids inhibit water from escaping from the skin, and they include fats, oils and waxes (cholesterol, ceramides and fatty acids).^9c,11a
• SBR® Repair reaches the spaces between the cells in the stratum corneum to replace the lost natural lipids in the optimal proportions to restore and accelerate the skin’s protective barrier repair. ^6a,d,9c
• SBR® Repair is an easy to apply cream base, it does not contain any colouring, perfume or preservatives, (all potential irritants) minimising the risk of allergic reactions.^6d,e,9g
• SBR® Repair also repairs the skin barrier after laser resurfacing, and has been shown to significantly reduce oozing during the first 2 days after the CO2 laser treatment.^20a

SBR® Repair is a water-in-oil cream to rehydrate skin effectively and restore the barrier function quickly and actively with good cosmetic properties, making it particularly suitable for treating dry skin disorders of all kinds.^6a,d,9c

• Ideal for chronic dry conditions and doesn’t irritate the skin.^6e,9f,12d
• Can be used as prophylactic skin care to minimise damage to the skin barrier.^6a,12d
• Increasing the time between flare-ups of atopic eczema (can be used at any stage for flare-ups of eczema).^12d,15a
• Maintain pH of the skin at the right level for faster barrier repair and maintenance.^1f,21a
• Last for up to twenty-four hours^6a,g

Patented nanoparticle technology which prolongs its efficacy and produce a cosmetically acceptable matt finish. ^1j

Where SBR® Repair cream repairs and restores very dry skin, SBR® Lipocream is an
emollient intended for daily use to replenish, or to help repair and restore dry skin.9h,19c

It replaces two of the skin’s physiological skin lipids (free fatty acids and cholesterol). It is less fatty than SBR® Repair cream, and contains 38 % lipids compared to the 70 % of lipids contained in SBR® Repair cream. SBR® Lipocream can be applied 3 to 4 times per day on the affected skin areas if necessary.9i,j,19d

• Atopic dermatitis: A chronic inflammatory skin disease of unknown origin that usually starts in early infancy, but also affects a substantial number of adults.
• Ceramide: A natural lipid molecule found in the outer layer of the skin.
• Eczema: Patches of skin become rough and inflamed with blisters which cause itching and bleeding.
• Emollients: A moisturiser that help keep the skin moist and supple by reducing water loss from the epidermis, the outer layer of skin. They provide a protective film. They are made up of mixture of oil and water in varying proportions, with a wide variety of additional ingredients which aid hydration.
• Hydrophobic: A substance that has little or no affinity for water.
• Nanoparticles: A microscopic particle with dimensions less that 100 nanometers.
• Psoriasis: A skin condition causes a thick, patchy, red rash with silvery, white scales.
• Sebum: An oily or waxy substance secreted by the skin’s glands to lubricate and waterproof the skin
• Stratum corneum: The outermost layer of the skin.
• Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL): Water loss through the skin due to damage to the skin barrier.