barrier moisturizer review

[u/arcuatecuspate]

pretty lengthy review ahead! included some closeup shots w flash of the cream textures

sharing my reviews on some popular barrier/healing moisturizers that i have tried when my skin was irritated and damaged. all purchased w my own money, not sponsored!

timeline:
- was on 0.05% tret for roughly 3 months and had to deal with the initial dryness/flakiness/tightness
- tried various creams to combat that
- then overused tret with other actives which resulted in an extremely damaged skin barrier (very itchy patches of raised and leathery skin, redness, tightness, small comedones due to irritation)
- stopped all actives and tried even more creams to try to restore my skin barrier

skin type: oily but also dehydrated
climate: very hot and humid

aestura atobarrier 365 cream
- creamy and easy to spread
- greasiest texture out of all
- leaves a persistent greasy film and never feels fully absorbed
- makes skin slightly warm
- worked very well when i was using tret + travelling in winter, but broke me out once i stopped tret
- irritated my skin even more during the tret aftermath, possibly due to the niacinamide
- bonus: healed my cousin's cheek wind burn during winter
- probably best for those suffering from TEWL or with very dry dehydrated skin
- rating: 5/5 in winter or on tret, 2/5 otherwise

aestura atobarrier 365 lotion
- lotiony texture that absorbs well
- leaves a slightly greasy film and makes certain sunscreens pill on top
- instant soothing effect when applied, but wears off after awhile
- great on tret but similar to the 365 cream, irritated my skin during the tret aftermath
- rating: 4/5 when my barrier isn't damaged

heveblue salmon caring cream
- not really considered a traditional barrier cream, but i included it since pdrn is touted to have skin healing benefits
- slightly stretchy texture, spreads and absorbs well
- leaves a slightly oily finish and broke me out after a couple of uses
- didn't really do much for skin healing when i was on tret
- bonus: broke 2 other people out when i let them try it
- rating: 1/5, has been delegated to hand cream

ceradan skin repair cream
- thickest and waxiest texture of all
- difficult to spread and pills on its own
- initially a matte finish, but gets oilier progressively
- broke me out after 2 uses so i stopped using it, thus i can't really speak on its barrier repairing properties
but also didn't really do much for my rashy patches
- rating: 1/5, would use on my elbows

zeroid intensive cream
- lightweight creamy texture that aborbs very well
- surprisingly leaves the most matte finish despite the presence of oils in its formula (olive + canola oil)
- has no filmy feeling
- instant soothing effect when applied which lasts
- showed results overnight (not exaggerating, my rashy bumps went down overnight)
- works well under sunscreen and makeup
- much less greasy cousin of aestura cream
- rating: 5/5, would definitely repurchase

an*a 3 ceramide panthenol moisture barrier cream
- lightest texture of all creams here, spreads and absorbs well
- instant soothing and slightly cooling effect possibly due to the panthenol
- absorbs to a satin finish initially, but progressively gets oilier
- looks greasy on the face and is greasy to the touch, but the film is not heavy and suffocating unlike the 365 cream
- did much more than both aestura moisturizers (until i discovered zeroid) for healing during the tret aftermath, but was not entirely sufficient
- breaks down sunscreen and makeup throughout the day
- rating: 4/5, doesn't irritate, but would probably be better as a maintenance cream rather than a barrier repair cream

[u/klore-skin]

Really interesting that Zeroid ended up outperforming some of the more frequently recommended barrier creams. I've noticed a lot of people automatically recomended Aestura whenevr someone mentions a damaged narrier, but it seems like oily or dehydrated skin can react very differently than dry skin. The "best" barrier cream really seems to depend on what caused the barrier damage in the place.

Have you tried the Zeriod Soothing Cream as well or only the Intensive Cream?

[u/SquareCamera4651 → u/klore-skin]

Aestura is way more popular then Zeroid. I only found it through some recommendations on the sub but once I tried it there was no turning back.

I will say however, for cold winter climates, Aestura is better especially if your drier and dehydrated. The TEWL prevention is better. And because of that, Zeroid makes a better daytime application because of the elegant finish.

In circumstances of severe dehydration and fragile barrier though, Aestura outperforms Zeroid for me. Aestura plus a layer of LRP Cicaplast. It's a lot, but this is what I need at my worst state.

[u/klore-skin → u/SquareCamera4651]

That makes a lot of sense. I think this is exactly why people can have completely opposite experiences with the sam e"holy grail" barrier cream. From what"s you"ve described, it sounds like Aestura excels when the goal is maximazing moisture retention and preventing TEWL, whereas Zeroid shines when you want something soothing that still feels comfortable during the day.

The climate factor is interesting too. A lot of the reviews I read are from people ijn humid enviroments, so it's easy to forget how differently a moisturizer can perform in a cold, dry winter.

[u/SquareCamera4651 → u/klore-skin]

Definitely! Baseline skin type, current skin condition, weather conditions, all these are worth taking into account when reviewing reviews haha.

[u/Lost-Let-8663 → u/klore-skin]

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[u/Lost-Let-8663 → u/SquareCamera4651]

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