Dr Sam Bunting.

"Flawless Neutralizing Gel contains a combination of 5% azelaic acid with a strong 2% salicylic acid, that's really going to help bust those comedones, in combination with 0.5% fuchsia or plant retinal, which is great for clearing pores and also helping settle any inflammatory blemishes that you have as well as those comedones. It's also got squalane, which is super gentle and can help reduce the tendency for those dry marks."

"This one comes in the same 40 ml size as the Avène product, around the same price, around the 10 pound mark. In terms of barrier repair with Cicaplast we have shea butter, silicones and glycerin, so this one maybe feels a little bit heavier and more paste-like on the skin, slightly more sophisticated in finish, but still feels quite functional. We've got zinc and manganese in here, and prebiotics, plus panthenol which is good for repair. They're great to have in the bathroom cabinet for sore chapped skin, suitable for use on just about any part of the body. The drawbacks are that if you want to use this during the day to tackle an upset barrier you're going to struggle, it doesn't sit well under sunscreen and makeup, it's very much the kind of thing you'd put on to soothe the skin at nighttime, and I've definitely had a few patients who've reported acne breaking out with using Cicaplast for a prolonged period of time. A perfect little rescue for sore areas, but with barrier repair having come so far we can probably do better when it comes to cosmetic elegance and user friendliness."

"This is the large size of Cicalfate, it does come in a 40 ml size just like the La Roche-Posay product, they're around the same price, around the 10 pound mark. I think of them as being the kind of thing that's great to have in the bathroom cabinet for sore chapped skin, and they're suitable for use on just about any part of the body, on the face, in the private areas, on your baby's bottom if they've got nappy rash. They have quite a similar formula to the La Roche-Posay one, we have a mineral oil glycerin base in terms of the occlusive humectant side of things, some antibacterial metals, copper and zinc, and a postbiotic, which means treated bacteria have been included in the formula to help stimulate the skin immune system, plus panthenol, which is a good skin conditioning agent, good for repair. The drawbacks are that if you want to use this during the day to tackle an upset barrier you're going to struggle a bit, I don't think I have any patients who'd be happy putting these on during the day, they don't sit well under sunscreen and makeup, they're very much the kind of thing you'd put on to soothe the skin at nighttime. A great thing to have in the bathroom cabinet, a perfect little rescue for sore areas, but with barrier repair having come so far we can probably do better when it comes to cosmetic elegance and user friendliness."

"The final one is a little more spendy, this is Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream and it comes in at £65 for 50 mls. I think this is good for those of us with dry skin, perhaps more mature skin, a formula that's really well considered for probably a postmenopausal complexion where the need for replenishing essential lipids and ceramides is high, and it has a really lovely reassuring and nourishing texture, very comforting on the skin. It does take a little bit of time to soak in completely, but it feels elegant, it feels pleasurable, and particularly for nighttime use it's a really lovely supportive barrier repair cream to use on the skin. It's also got some interesting ingredients, bisabolol and an ingredient called Brahmi root extract, which I've never heard of, which is apparently used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine, but calming, soothing, no fragrance, great for mature skin, and probably that little bit of a treat."

"This is The Ordinary Soothing and Barrier Support Serum, it comes in at £7.50 for 30 mls. When I think of barrier support I don't necessarily think of a serum, and a lot of people naturally lean towards something a bit heavier, but for those who have oily skin but are prone to sensitivity there is something appealing about a more light textured product when it comes to layering, especially for a morning routine. The formulation leans heavily on elements found in centella asiatica, so three different components of centella, plus some niacinamide, and the bright pink color which is due to the inclusion of vitamin B12 or cobalamin. That's the part where I start to get a little bit hesitant because there isn't a huge amount of data for that particular ingredient, vitamin B12 certainly isn't one of the immediate ingredients I think of when I think of barrier repair, I've not really seen much about it in the literature, and I do think it's probably there to give it its very Instagrammable color. However the rest of the formulation is good, niacinamide is a great ingredient, particularly if you are oily but sensitive because it supports skin barrier function and it's highly anti-inflammatory, a reassuring ingredient if you're acne prone, and it could easily be layered, I'd almost say it needs to be layered with something a little heavier on the occlusives. I do think you'll need a little extra between you and your sunscreen if you want this to sit well on your skin all day. An interesting lineup of ingredients, a nice texture if you like something to layer, but I don't think it's going to meet the needs of anybody with a skin type that isn't oily, if you're combination or dry you're probably going to want something with a little bit more. Compared to the other two, this is probably not a full service barrier treatment, you definitely need some kind of occlusive in there, but it's more suitable for daytime than the Cicaplast and the Cicalfate."

"Next I'm going in with Nightly Pro. I alternate between that and tretinoin. My skin is just a little dry from travel recently, so I'm just having a Nightly Pro night, but that's just my personal choice to lower the intensity, so I'm not doing tret every single night. You really don't need more than a pea sized amount, if you're using a cream with Nightly Pro that's one pump, a little goes a long way. And if you're having to massage in lots and lots of retinoid product, you're probably using too much."