I just stumbled across this amazing National Geographic article, Unmasking Skin.  After reading it, I am finding it impossible to not be in complete awe of what are skin does everyday.  I am also realizing how often I take for granted all the amazing things that my skin does for me.  This is a great reminder to treat our skin just as well as anything else we consider precious or invaluable.

Thankfully, the foundations of good care are fairly simple.  The famous Dr. Perricone’s recommendations fall in line with guidelines to prevent heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and other age related chronic illnesses.

Perricone argues that you can make your skin more healthy and keep it from aging by changing diet, taking the right supplements and vitamins, increasing exercise, and drinking lots of water.

I think it is fair to stop believing that taking care of your skin is mere vanity.  Because our skin is so much more than an adorment meant to make us look good.  Healthy skin is an indicator of a healthy whole body system.  Taking care of your skin doesn’t mean looking 18 forever.  It is about keeping your skin functioning optimally so it (and you!) looks and feels it’s best at any age.  This point is beautifully illustrated in the closing paragraph of Unmasking Skin when the author wirtes about connecting with his dying mother.

I try to comfort her by talking, singing songs from my childhood, or just sitting quietly. I’m not sure what she can sense, but her skin feels warm and normal. I keep my fingers on her arm or cheek, anything to let her know that she is not alone and that she is loved. I realize that our only unbroken connection now is through touch. We are skin to skin, warmth to warmth. According to the textbooks, transduction within the skin is transforming physical energy to neural energy. But something far more important is occurring. Love and memory are flowing through my skin and into her dreams.

This quote taken from a Body and Soul magazine article has always resonated with me.

“Prevention isn’t having a mammogram…Prevention is eating an anti-inflammatory diet rich in greens and whole grains and exercising.”

1. Protect your skin from the sun.  We’ve heard it a million times or more, but it is a really big one.  Whether it is  broad spectrum sunscreen or staying out of the suns rays, this is one of the most important preventative steps you can take.
2. Stay hydrated.  Water is essential to sustaining the health of skin cells.  This means drink enough water AND supplement from the outside.  All skin types can benefit from the correct moisturizers.
3. Eat and drink your antioxidants.  Antioxidents both prevent the oxidation that produces free radicals as well as neutralizes free radicals before they are able damage or destroy a cell.

Prevention is attacking a problem before it becomes a problem.  Are you taking the right steps to keep you skin healthy and looking it’s best?