SKIN

Look at your palm, look at the back of your hand, look at your sole, your tummy, your leg. What do you see? You see skin, maybe some hair, maybe not, maybe some blemishes, spots, scars, maybe not, different parts of you your body have different sorts of skin, thicker or thinner, pale or dark, rough or smooth, brown, pink or yellow.

The skin is a membrane covering the entire body, it is waterproof(ish), airtight and elastic i.e. it stretches and shrinks as you move, take a pinch and pull it, it stretches, and then when you let go, it snaps back to its original position. Push it in and let go, again it returns to position. It keeps your blood in and the rain out, the right sort of touch in the right place is ecstasy, the wrong touch or the wrong place can be unpleasant. Your skin is where your body ends and your environment begins, and your skin is a very important interface between the two.

Skin is part of your immune system, it prevents the loss of body fluids and prevents the ingress of pathogenic substances, symbiotic micro-organisms live on your skin and thus it represents a first line of defence against hostile microbes.

The skin consists of a thin outer layer, called the epidermis and a thicker, inner layer, called the dermis. Beneath the dermis is a layer of fatty subcutaneous tissue. The hair and nails are extensions of the skin and are made of keratin, which is also the main component of the epidermis. The epidermis' outer layer is dead skin which continually sloughs off and new cells are produced deeper in the epidermis to replace this on-going loss. What this means is that the skin is continually being renewed from the inside, so that skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, spots, dry/greasy skin are problems of the making of new skin. Consequently, the solution to skin problems lies with rectifying the manufacture of skin rather than topical application of creams and lotions etc. Possibly the only exception to this is the question of infections whereby topical anti-microbials are probably more effective than systemic treatments.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the skin is regarded as a third lung and the condition of the skin conveys useful diagnostic information about the lungs at a subtle level as well as at a gross level. Subtle changes in the distribution of hot/cold and moisture , for example, are usefull information for a practitioner of TCM. Even orthodox medicine concerns itself with gross changes such as a blue tone which speak of a blood insufficiency or a redness suggests inflammation and so on.

The cosmetics industry makes billions of pounds out of dry skin by selling moisturising creams and treatments - but we have already established that the condition of the skin reflects internal processes, so dry skin means dry insides or dehydration, and how can skin best be re-hydrated? From the inside, with water - by drinking the daily requirement of 2 litres of water. Dry skin is usually a dehydration issue, but it may be a lack of essential fats, minerals or vitamins. The low-fat culture we live in ignores the question of good fats and bad fats, we ought to be living in a low bad-fat culture, but we're not, so if your skin is dry and your body is properly hydrated, check that your fat intake is appropriate (see elsewhere on this site for the issue of good vs bad fats), remember too, ladies, that hormones are made from fats, so many menstrual irregularites can be addressed by proper fat consumption. Whilst you're checking your fat consumption, think about your mineral and vitamin intake - consider a blood test/hair analysis/Vega-test, perhaps best of all is to ensure that you consume the minimum recommedation of 10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. This is more important than taking a min/vit supplement, many of these supplements contain insufficient doses or are in a form that is virtually indigestible - some mineral supplements are no better than powdered rocks.

How best to care for your skin, then? The basics are plenty of fruits and vegetables and bottled or filtered water - tap water contains too many chemicals which can be harmful for the skin. Skin brushing with a firm natural bristle is the best form of exfoliation. Be carefull what goes on your skin, many cosmetics contain dangerous chemicals, as do many household cleaning products. A very famous skin oil marketed to to keep your skin youthfull, actually contains an industrial degreasing agent (to remove your natural oils) which impairs your skin's ability to produce oil, thus causing premature ageing of your skin!! This premature ageing effect only shows when you stop using the product - good for brand loyalty, I guess.

Sunlight is good for your skin, in moderation - the annual hysteria about sunscreens ignores the very real debate about whether the increase in skin cancer-type problems is a consequence of too much sunlight or the carcingenic chemicals in many sun-tan lotions (see elsewhere on the website for a discussion of this) and other cosmetics.

As mentioned above the hair and the nails are made from much the same stuff as skin so hair and nail condition is a reflection of one's internal workings so that if the hair or the nails are in poor condition then the advice on skin care applies. Have you ever noticed how cats/dogs /horses etc with poor fur/hair/skin are not treated with lotion/potions etc but are treated with diet. Turn up at the vet with a dog with thinning fur and the vet will immediately focus on diet, and yet turn up at the doctors with thinning hair and you will be steered towards shampoos/conditioners. Odd, huh? Maybe we really are a nation of animal lovers and look after our animals better than ourselves.

Stephen MacAllan