Objective To study the effect of a repair essential oil on skin barrier function in patients with facial dermatitis. Methods A total of 131 patients with facial dermatitis admitted to our hospital from August 2021 to December 2022 were randomly divided into control group (n=62) and experimental group (n=69). The control group was treated with traditional regimen, and the experimental group was treated with repair essential oil on the basis of the control group. The clinical efficacy, serum inflammatory factor level, skin barrier function, symptom score, symptom elimination time and pruritus degree were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of treatment in the experimental group was 95.65%, which was higher than 80.65% in the control group (P<0.05). The cuticle water content and sebum content in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group, and TEWL was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The level of IL-2 in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group, and the levels of IL-4 and IL-5 were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The symptom score, symptom elimination time and VAS score of the experimental group were better than those of the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion On the basis of routine treatment of patients with facial dermatitis, the combined use of repair essential oil can improve skin oil and water content, reduce transcutaneous water loss, effectively repair skin barrier and improve clinical efficacy, which is worthy of clinical application.