Your Skin Is The Gateway To Your Health

You may have heard, ‘skin is the largest organ in the body’ but have you ever stopped to think about what that means?

When we have a shower or bath, we’re cleaning away any dirt, grime or oils that may have accumulated during the day. As the water runs off our skin, taking the dirt with it, we feel refreshed and reinvigorated. There’s just something about water than makes us feel renewed.

But just because water runs off your skin doesn’t mean it’s waterproof.

Your skin is a living breathing part of your body which performs 6 key functions.

Protection: Your skin protects the rest of your body from harm from sun damage, dehydration, bacteria and physical injury.

 

Sensation: You skin is where you feel heat, cold, pain and touch

 

Temperature Regulation: Your skin will seal in warmth or release it to ensure constant and safe body temperature

 

Immunity: Specific cells in the skin destroy harmful bacteria before they can penetrate and cause damage to the rest of the body

 

Excretion: Waste products such as water, urea, ammonia and uric acid are excreted through the skin through sweat glands

 

Endocrine: The production of Vitamin D through exposure to sunlight is performed by your skin.

There is much more to the skin than meets the eye and one of the most important things to understand is that your skin is porous.

Everything you put on your skin will be absorbed into your blood stream where it is carried to every cell of your body.

Let’s think about this for a moment. 

 

What are you putting on your skin?

Most of us have a bathroom cabinet full of beauty products. We have everything from moisturising creams to shampoo, from cosmetics to sunscreen, from perfume to deodorant.

Every single one of these products contains chemicals that are potentially harming your health.

(Take a look at the labels on your favourite products to check this out for yourself)

For example, sunscreen companies have long claimed the chemicals in their products aren’t absorbed into the body. However, in a recent study carried out by the FDA (US Food & Drug Administration) it was conclusively proven that the chemicals in sunscreen are absorbed into the bloodstream in concentrations that are considered unsafe. For over 50 years we’ve been told to apply sunscreen before going into the sun to protect ourselves from skin cancer but the very thing we’re applying as protection may be one of the key factors in the increased rates of skin cancers we see today.

When you put moisturiser, cosmetics, deodorant, perfume or sunscreen on to your skin, the chemicals in the products are being absorbed into your body.

Almost 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six chemical elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Only about 0.85% is composed of another five elements: potassium, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. All 11 are necessary for life.

We’ve all seen chemical experiments in a laboratory. When one chemical is mixed with another, various reactions are sparked. Sometimes the reactions are explosive, sometimes they are toxic and sometimes they simply change colour. What’s important to recognise is that the interplay of chemicals will always create a reaction. It’s basic chemistry.

The same thing is happening in your body.

When foreign chemicals and your body’s natural chemicals meet, a reaction happens. That reaction will almost certainly alter the chemistry of your body and create imbalance. When balance is compromised, biological systems are no longer able to function efficiently and health is affected.

Of course, chemicals are found in lots of other places too. In the food we eat, in the air we breath, in the clothing we wear and in the tattoos we ink our bodies with. They’re also found in the products we use to wash our dishes, to wash our clothes and to clean our homes.

Many people are conscious of the impact toxic chemicals are having on our planet but surprisingly few people realise the impact that toxic chemicals contained in beauty products is having on their health.

Your skin is not an impervious barrier to keep harm at bay. It is an organ that is intrinsically connected to every other organ and biological system in your body. When you ink, pierce, cut, inject or adapt it in any way, it doesn’t just impact your skin. It impacts your health.

What goes onto your skin, goes into your body. It’s that simple.

It’s natural to want to look your best but the true secret to beauty is to make choices that will support your body for greater health and vitality. Your skin will glow, your eyes will sparkle, and your body will be full of energy.

By taking a moment to go through the beauty products you have on your shelf, look at the labels and perhaps find natural alternatives, you are making a decision to support your body to take care of you.

And your body will thank you!