Byoma Steps: A Full Routine Built Around One Barrier Complex

In 1983 a dermatologist named Peter Elias published a paper in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology that gave skin a picture we still use. The outer layer, he proposed, is built like a wall, with flat cells as the bricks and layers of fats between them doing a special job in holding the barrier together. Later textbooks named it the brick and mortar model. Everyone talks about the bricks. The mortar is what keeps water in.

Byoma is a whole brand built on the mortar. Marc Elrick began developing it in 2020, during the early lockdowns, after watching people play chemist in their bathrooms with strong actives and get worse results. He came out convinced that better skin stems from a boosted barrier, and the brand launched in February 2022 from his Glasgow incubator, Future Beauty Labs. Every formula runs on what the brand calls a Tri-Ceramide Complex: ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids in a 3 to 1 to 1 ratio, meant to mirror the skin's own lipids. I like a brand with one idea and the discipline to repeat it. It makes the shelf easy to read.

The trick is to start where the barrier is either protected or stripped, at the cleanser. The first grid holds six cleansers and two toners. The Milky Oil Gentle Cleanser and the Melting Balm Cleanser are the makeup removers, and the Foaming Rice Deep Cleanser is the more thorough wash for the evenings when you want a thorough wash. The Creamy Jelly Cleanser and the Milky Moisture Cleanser sit between them, and the Blemish Acne Clearing Creamy Cleanser is the one for breakouts. Then the toners: the Hydrating Milky Toner is the calm one, and the Brightening Toner with Lactic Acid brings in a mild acid.

Start with one serum, not three. Byoma makes it tempting to stack, because every bottle on this shelf shares the same ceramide base, but the whole point of the brand is that you stop piling things onto your face. Pick the concern that bothers you most and give it a few weeks.

The Hydrating Serum with Tri-Ceramide Complex is the plain, sensible place to begin, and the Clarifying Serum with Tri-Ceramide Complex is its counterpart for oilier skin. The Brightening Serum for Dark Spots + Texture and the Longevit-8 Peptide Serum add actives on top of that base, while the Phyto Mucin Glow Serum leans on a fermented ingredient for glow. Elrick told Forbes the brand worked with South Korean cosmetic scientists he calls pioneers in skin barrier research, and the Sensitive Retinol Oil is where that collaboration shows: retinol in an oil, aimed at reactive skin.

A pairing I like: the Hydrating Serum first, then a few drops of the Sensitive Retinol Oil at night, so the retinol lands on skin that is already comfortable. The Hydrating Recovery Oil and the Barrier + Repair Treatment are the two I would keep in a drawer for the nights skin feels rubbed raw, after a flight or a week of too many products.

What I would skip: starting the retinol oil and the brightening serum in the same week. If your skin complains, you will not know which one to blame.

One rule for moisturizers: choose by texture, not by promise. Byoma splits its creams by weight instead of by age or skin type, which is a refreshingly honest way to shop.

The Moisturizing Gel Cream is the light one, the kind you can wear under makeup in June. The Moisturizing Rich Cream is the heavy one, for the dry months and the dry-skinned, and the Hydrating Milky Moisturizer sits in the middle, which is where most people will be happiest. Around the eyes the brand does the same thing twice: the Barrier Repair Eye Cream for repair, the De-puff and Brightening Eye Gel for a quicker morning refresh. I would keep the gel in the fridge door, but that is my habit, not the brand's instruction.

Byoma added suncare in 2023, and the Ultra-Lightweight Face Fluid SPF 30 in this grid is the sunscreen to try if you have been putting the step off because everything felt heavy. The Bio-Collagen Radiance Facial Mask is the occasional treat, and the Blemish Acne Control Moisturizer is the targeted one for skin that is actively breaking out.

What I would skip: the Rich Cream on skin that is already breaking out. Reach for the Gel Cream or the blemish moisturizer instead and save the richer texture for winter.

A habit worth borrowing: treat your body like your face, at least once a week. The barrier does not stop at the jaw, and the skin on your shins is usually the first to complain.

The Creamy Hydrating Body Wash with Squalane and the Deeply Hydrating Body Lotion with Shea Butter are the everyday pair, and they are the ones I would hand to someone who just wants their skin to stop feeling tight after a shower. The Brightening Body Wash with Niacinamide + Azelaic Acid and the Brightening Body Lotion with Niacinamide + Urea take the face serum actives and stretch them over a bigger surface, useful for rough elbows and the bumpy backs of the arms. The Sensitive Body Lotion is fragrance free, which makes it the sensible one for skin that reacts to everything else.

A pairing I like: the Nourishing Body Oil with Jojoba + Seabuckthorn pressed over lotion while skin is still damp, so the oil seals in the water instead of sitting on top of nothing.

The Liptide Lip Oil and Lip Mask, both built on peptides, are the smallest things in the whole lineup. Keep the oil in a coat pocket and the mask by the bed. They carry the same repair idea as everything above them.

What I would skip: the body oil on bone-dry skin straight out of a hot shower, when a lotion will do more.

I think Byoma's growth says something simple. People were tired of being told to do more to their skin. The brand grew fast enough that Bansk Group agreed to buy a majority stake, and that success rests on a reaction to one very specific moment, the lockdown years of over-exfoliating with little guidance.

So here is what I would do. One cleanser from the first grid, one moisturizer from the third, a sunscreen, and then nothing else for a month. Add a serum only if something still bothers you. Elias gave us the wall in 1983, and Byoma sells the mortar. Go easy on the sledgehammer. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Flawless Hair Removal Began as a Lipstick Look-Alike and Grew Into a Whole Routine and The Best Skincare Products, Built on a 1967 Vogue Routine.