skincare for broken barrier acne-prone sensitive skin

[morganoglesbyy]

I’ve been using a different form of retinol called arazalo for about 2 and a half years on and off every other night & currently use wenlevi morning and night. My skin barrier  has become completely damaged due to this & because of other products my dermatologist prescribed and i’m looking for a moisturizer & possibly a toner to improve my skin barrier. I have combo skin, usually oily in warmer months and dryer in the winter. I think overall I have dryer skin though due to the lack of moisture from overusing retinols. I do still have acne prone sensitive skin, and am looking for non-pore clogging ingredients in products that are also friendly with wenlevi as i’ve never had an issue with that topical. I also wear make-up regularly, if anyone has recommendations i’d love to try! 

[lalawritergirl]

I’ve been following Dr Idriss on YouTube and she has great advice on repairing the skin barrier.  Agree with stopping your retinol the previous poster said. 
I’ve been doing tretanoin for about 2 months now. I use the Dr Idriss SoftWash cleanser which is very gentle. I’ve been using Beauty of Joseon Calming Serum and Beauty Pie Shinkai moisturizer. I also like Glow Recipe Cloudberry moisturizer and Tatcha the Water Cream. 

[SelineSims]

if you have a broken skin barrier my first recommendation would be to stop using retinol as it tends to cause issues. 

I would recommend keeping your skincare routine very short and minimal, a gentle cleanser, moisturizer and serum (sunscreen during the day). 

What helped my skin barrier heal was using a gentle foam (or oil) cleanser and moisturize with less thick moisturizers such as Kiehl's Since 1851 Ultra Facial Refillable Moisturizing Cream with Squalane 1.7 oz / 50 mL  or Skinfix barrier+ Triple Lipid Lip Treatment 0.27 oz / 7.5 mg  

Of course I am not a professional, each skin is different so it takes some trial and error.