The Skin

So let's start with the basics. Your skin is the first line of defense to fighting off infection, so proper maintenance of this protective covering of our body is very important! By keeping the skin moist and healthy you will be able to maintain a good safeguard to your body. The skin is our largest organ, which means that we need to keep the outermost cells production in a proper balance of being fresh and sloughing off by cleansing and doing  a proper skin care routine. Our skin also serves as a serious defender of the sun, by darkening as a defense mechanism. This means that a tan is a defense mechanism and we should stop looking at tanned skin as beautiful. It means your body is busy fighting off the rays, so while the darkening process in your skin is busy your other defenses will be down, that's why things like cold sores are more likely to happen when you get too much sun or the dreaded summer cold happens. Things that  normally  would be dormant can sneak out and attack your body!another thing that can cause your skin's defenses to be used up would be the exposure of too much heat to the skin's surface. So sorry to say but... no hot showers and no steam room and sauna usage over the recommended time allotment of 10 -15 minutes. remember heat is good for the muscles but not the skin. We use a little steam during a facial to heat up the skin for a small amount of time, people only get a facial once a month or so, so you are not steaming the face daily. Lukewarm temperature for skincare routine is  good. Not too cold or too hot, just right. Remember we  have flesh and what happens to flesh that gets cooked too long in the pot(think of any meat you can cook, they have flesh too:)? it will leave the skin thickened and leathery in the end.  Most of the skin damage that we do is not visible until your 30's, so even though your young skin might look ok, it will show all your problems later down the road. When we are young our DNA is healthy and works  really well, then the aging process happens to us and our DNA starts to get damaged, then  cell memory happens...and that bad sunburn you had 16 years ago comes back to haunt you!I will end this day with my advice of making sure you wear sunblock daily and cleanse your face in lukewarm water, try to do this at the sink to control the temperature! Skintalk tomorrow...