For a limited time, when you purchase Barrier Calming Cream, you’ll receive a free Retinol Complex of your choice of strength.
Experience stronger, healthier skin with Barrier Calming Cream and Retinol
Retinol delivers some of the most proven anti-aging results in skincare, but the adjustment period can leave your skin dry, tight, and irritated. That’s where SkinMedica Barrier Calming Cream comes in. Formulated to rebuild your skin’s protective barrier while delivering lasting hydration, Barrier Calming Cream is clinically shown to help your skin tolerate retinol more comfortably, so you can stick with your routine and actually see results.
Choosing Your Retinol Strength
Retinol encourages skin renewal, helping combat visible signs of premature aging, refine texture, and support a more even, radiant complexion. It can also help refine the appearance of pores over time. SkinMedica’s Retinol Complex range comes in three strengths, so you can start where your skin is ready and build from there. Each strength is encapsulated with PhytoShield™ Complex, an antioxidant blend designed to help minimize irritation while improving skin texture.
Use code RETINOL25 for your free Retinol Complex .25
The gentlest option in the lineup, ideal if you’re using a retinol for the first time or have sensitive skin. Start here to build your skin’s tolerance safely.
Use code RETINOL50 for your free Retinol Complex .50
A mid-strength formula with twice the retinol concentration of the 0.25. This is the sweet spot for skin that’s already conditioned and ready for more noticeable resurfacing.
Use code RETINOL1 for your free Retinol Complex 1.0
The strongest option, best for skin pre-conditioned by the 0.5 formula and ready for maximum results.
Why These Products Work Together
Retinol is one of the most effective ingredients for smoother texture, softer lines, and a more even tone. But it can also be one of the most challenging to introduce into a routine, since even gentle formulas can cause dryness, flaking, and redness while your skin builds tolerance. Pairing retinol with a dedicated barrier-support cream helps you get the benefits without the discomfort.
Barrier Calming Cream was designed with exactly this challenge in mind. Its rich blend of barrier-supporting lipids, soothing botanicals, and hydrating actives helps counteract the dryness and sensitivity that often come with introducing retinol into your routine. In contrast, retinol continues to renew tone and texture.
Here’s what the clinical data shows when the two are used together:
- 40% reduction in dryness after 6 weeks of pairing Barrier Calming Cream with retinol
- 31% reduction in visible redness after 6 weeks
- 90% of participants reported their skin felt rebalanced and calmed after just 3 days of using Barrier Calming Cream alongside retinol
- 100% of participants using Retinol Complex 0.5 agreed Barrier Calming Cream reduced irritation and replenished their skin barrier
Clinical claims based on data on file at SkinMedica. Results reflect study participants and may vary from person to person.
Think of it this way: retinol does the heavy lifting of renewing your skin, while Barrier Calming Cream keeps the door open so your skin can keep up. Together, help you build retinol tolerance more comfortably.
Barrier Calming Cream: Built for Comfort and Resilience
Barrier Calming Cream isn’t just a moisturizer, it’s a restorative treatment for dryness and dehydration, redness and sensitivity, and a damaged skin barrier, all in one step.
Rich hydration and barrier reinforcement
Its Calcium-Strengthening Complex combines calcium with essential skin lipids to help restore and fortify your skin’s protective barrier, while humectants like glycerin and
niacinamide draw in and lock down moisture.
Calms visible redness
A Botanical Calming Complex, featuring soothing extracts like coriander seed oil, willow bark, oat kernel, cucumber, and tomato fruit, works to quiet the look of irritation and redness.
Suitable for all skin types, especially reactive or sensitive skin
This gentle, noncomedogenic formula is hypoallergenic and pH-balanced, and it’s made without parabens, fragrance, dyes, silicones, mineral oil, phthalates, or hormones.
Multi-benefit simplicity
Instead of reaching for separate products to hydrate, calm, and support your barrier, Barrier Calming Cream delivers all three benefits in a single, streamlined step — making it easier to stay consistent with your
routine.
Cleanse and tone your face thoroughly in the evening.
Apply your retinol to your entire face (avoiding the eye area), starting with just twice a week, spaced 2 to 3 days apart if you’re new to retinol.
Follow with Barrier Calming Cream. Apply one pump over your entire face, extending to your neck and décolleté if desired, and massage until absorbed.
Gradually increase retinol application to every other night, then to nightly use as your skin builds tolerance.
Protect your skin during the day. Apply Barrier Calming Cream again in the morning, followed by a broad-spectrum SPF of 30 or higher, since retinol increases sun sensitivity.
How to use Barrier Calming Cream with Retinol
Building retinol tolerance takes patience, and pairing it with the right barrier support makes it much more comfortable. Here’s a simple evening routine to follow:
What’s in Barrier Calming Cream
Calcium-Strengthening Complex
calcium paired with essential skin lipids (phospholipids, sphingolipids, glycolipids, and glycosphingolipids) that work to restore and fortify the skin barrier
Botanical Calming Complex
coriander seed oil, willow bark, oat kernel, cucumber, and tomato fruit extracts that calm the look of redness and deliver hydration
Humectants
glycerin, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), niacinamide , and glyceryl glucoside
Antioxidant vitamins
ascorbyl palmitate (vitamin C), tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol (vitamin E), and retinyl palmitate (vitamin A)
What’s in Retinol Complex
Encapsulated retinol
at your chosen strength, paired with PhytoShield™ Complex, an antioxidant blend that helps minimize irritation while improving texture
Magnolia bark extract
which helps soothe inflammation as your skin adjusts
Niacinamide
supporting barrier function and tone
Additional supportive actives
all dependent on your chosen strength
f.a.q.
No — the Barrier Calming Cream is specifically formulated to minimize that risk and soothe and support skin that’s adjusting to retinol. It’s noncomedogenic, hypoallergenic, and pH-balanced, making it suitable even for reactive or sensitive skin.
In clinical testing, 90% of participants reported their skin felt rebalanced and calmed after just 3 days of using Barrier Calming Cream alongside retinol. Participants also saw 40% less dryness and 31% less visible redness after 6 weeks.
If you’re new to retinol, start with Retinol Complex 0.25 . As your skin builds tolerance, you can step up to 0.5 and eventually 1.0 . Visit our guide to choosing a retinol strength for more detail.
Apply it morning and night after cleansing, toning, and any treatment products (including retinol in the evening). In the morning, follow with a broad-spectrum SPF.
Barrier Calming Cream does not contain retinol, but it does contain retinyl palmitate, a vitamin A derivative. Retinol should not be used if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant. Please consult your provider before using either product. Always consult your provider with questions about your specific routine.
