Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Skin skin and more skin

Many of you have probably have heard the skin is the largest organ in your body and is made up of many layers. There are three main layers I want to point out though, top layer is the epidermis, second is the dermis, and third is the hypodermis also known as the subcutaneous adipose layer. Each have a specific role for your bodies protection.


The epidermis is basically a water shield and keeps water inside your body and is waterproof on the outside to keep pathogens away. The epidermis also helps regulate your bodies temperature.

The dermis, below the epidermis is where a lot of nerve endings are so this is where you get heat and touch sensation. The dermis cushions the body from stress and strain. In the dermis is where your sweat glands, hair follicles, sebaceous glands (these secrete your natural oils), lymphatic vessels (these carry lymph), and blood vessels are.

The hypodermis basically connects the two top layers to the bones and muscles in your body. It contains 50% of the your body fat and serves as insulation and padding.





Now that you know what your basic skin make up is, I want to share with you ways to keep your skin healthy and vibrant! Your skin is what people see, you don't see muscle or bone exposed bc you have this perfect blanket of skin. Many of us think about our skin daily (women totally do) and we try to make it appear healthy and beautiful, but what if what you are doing is actually not really helping your skin but rather damaging it?

Your skin is the body's largest organ, and it works with your kidneys to get rid of the bodies toxins. However, your skin needs to be able to breathe to perform these function. 

Mineral oil is probably the most common oil found in popular lotions and skin care, sadly the reason is it is cheap. It actually seals off your skin and keeps it from breathing as well as keeping it from absorbing good nutrients and moisture. This causes premature aging and clogged pores.
Mineral oil covers the skin like plastic wrap, inhibiting the skin's natural immune barrier and its ability to breathe and absorb. Also, mineral oil attracts needed moisture from cells deep in your skin. This means that cell renewal is slowed, then your collagen breaks down, and then your connective tissue is destroyed. Normal cell development is slowed down and the skin ages prematurely when skin cells are robbed of moisture.

Take a look at what you put on your skin does it have mineral oil? THROW IT AWAY IF IT DOES!

Another common ingredient in lotions and creams are different types of alcohols. There are some good alcohols that are natural and are not harsh on skin, but there are many bad ones that include ethanol, denatured alcohol, ethyl alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and sd alcohol, which not only can be extremely drying and irritating to skin, but may be cytotoxic. Meaning it is toxic to your cells.  Again check your products.

So why is it so important that we put good things onto our skin? The answer is clear our skin houses many many blood vessels and your skin absorbs what you put on it and then that is transferred into your blood. If that doesn't make you more careful about what you put on your skin I don't know what will.

Having good skin products is also vital for good skin health bc what you eat is not always enough to nourish your skin. When you digest your food only a very small percentage of nutrients actually go to your skin. So a great solution is putting these nutrients directly on your skin, your skin will get a lot more out of direct contact. This does not mean diet isn't important for skin health bc diet is very very important for healthy, beautiful skin!

Ok, I hope this has inspired some of you to be a little more cautious with what you put on your skin and more so I hope you all are inspired to love your skin! No matter what stage it's at! Scarred, broken, cracked, wrinkled, sagging, jiggly love it no matter what and take good care of it! It protects you from all kinds of awful things that could get into your body! So show some appreciation and love to the largest organ that works hard and gets a lot of abuse.

Some fun facts about your skin:

-Globally, dead skin cells account for about a billion tons of dust in the atmosphere. You shed about 50,000 cells every minute!- Another good reason to use good products that encourage the healthy reproduction of these skin cells, you want to generate new HEALTHY cells! (this is sort of a gross fact when you think of it. We are like breathing in everyones skin ugh)

-The average adult's skin spans 21 square feet, weighs nine pounds, and contains more than 11 MILES of blood vessels!! WOW

Keep watching out I will be posting many skin care tips! Next blog I post will be about dry brushing and why it is sooo good for your skin!!!


Get some good skin care products I make myself (approved by me and many others) go to www.etsy.com/shop/theblissfulbody Until October 16 enjoy 10% off use OPEN10 at check out!!





3 comments:

  1. Wow! That is nutts! I am so checking all my lotions! I have never used lotion with alcohol in in but mineral oil I did not know about! Great post especially since you are my "queen" of healthy products now! :)

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    1. Ya mineral oil is no good!! Baby oil is mineral oil. The reason is b/c since it does create a barrier on your skin it can help diaper rash heal faster b/c nothing can get to the skin. I will never use baby oil!!

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  2. Great post!! I love to meet others that enjoy healthy living. Found you on October Blog Hop

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