Skin Health
So does it really matter what we use on our skin? It isn't like we are eating it or anything?
The answer I submit to you is that it matters greatly what we use on our skin and our body. Our skin is the largest organ we have. It can absorb up to 60% of what we put on it. 1 That means if you are using lotions, shampoos, or other products with chemicals in them they will be absorbing into your body as well. On the positive side if we are putting pure and truly natural ingredients on our skin they will absorb and bring good health to our skin and the rest of our body.
A very clear illustration of how much our skin absorbs happened in our home a few days ago. My oldest daughter has a gluten intolerance and gluten allergy as well (they are different and for more on that see the post from back in November on this topic). She handled some flour to staunch blood flow on a small injury on one of her rabbits. In the process the flour spilled all over her and all over her room. As she cleaned up she was handling the flour and she ended up with red itching hands where the flour touched them and with a headache from breathing in the flour dust. It took the rest of the day for her to recover.
Eating healthy and drinking enough water are also going to eventually reflect on your skin. If you eat a S.A.D. of mostly processed foods it will show up in all areas of your health including your skin. If you are not drinking water or very little you skin will tend to be dry and show your general dehydration.
Another nasty chemical for our skin is chlorine. If you live in an area where you have city/town water system you will have chlorine in your water and your best bet is to install some kind of filter which will remove the chlorine from your water. We have a Berkey filter on one of our showers and I have noticed a difference since using it. My skin is much less dry and I do not need as much lotion.
Using lotion after a bath or shower is a smart idea to replenish the oils externally. Soap and water will remove the natural oils in your skin. Again paying attention to what is in your lotion is important. Have you ever read the labels as to what is in there? Do you know what the chemicals can do to you? These are questions worth finding out and I guarantee you that the more you know the less you will want to pick up the cheap options at Walmart or the Dollar stores.
The best principle I have found to decide what to use on my skin is does it have ingredients I could eat? I don't make a practice of eating shea butter but I could, so if a skin care product has shea butter in it I would use it. And of course the better quality of ingredients the better for my skin and body.
Believe it or not sleep affects our skin health as well. During sleep is when the body rejuvenates itself in all ways including our skin. Working to build regular healthy sleep patterns of 7-8 hours/night can only pay off in good health for all of us.
Another area that affects our skin health is sun exposure. For the past 20 years or so being in the sun has been greatly villified because of a fear of skin cancer. Now it has come to light (pun intended) that we get needed Vitamin D from the sun and so we need some sun exposure daily. That still needed to be moderated with care taken to length of time in the sun and how intense the sun's rays are. A sun burn needs careful attention to restore the moisture and heal the affected areas.
More on this topic in the next two weeks.
Jennifer
1 http://www.mothering.com/community/a/our-skin-eats-too