Skin, The Storytelling Organ
Navigating the skincare labyrinth is not for the faint of heart and seems impossible to avoid. In the buzzy social media hive, there’s a skin care niche for everyone: from the high-powered girls and theys with 16-step skin care routine to the lazy-girl aesthetic for folks who just want to slap on some sunscreen before leaving the house.
Every day a new “skinfluencer” pops up on my TikTok feed, touting the benefits of one serum over another. Each week without fail, I know that a dermatologist on my Instagram feed will show me how I’ve been putting on sunscreen wrong this whole time, and every new nutritionist will tell me all about the inflammatory foods that cause breakouts.
And yet, despite the buzz of information, there’s a lot more to the body’s biggest organ than serums and acne. Our skin tells stories about what happens inside our bodies: our habits, our likes, and our anxieties. In short, it’s our storytelling organ.
Besides acting as the meat-suit that carries us to and from meetings, our skin acts as a barrier from the outside world: protecting us from pathogens, regulating our temperature, providing sensation and immunity, and eliminating toxins our body no longer needs.
A story told in layers, the skin is composed of the outermost layer, the epidermis; the first point of contact between you and the world. Underneath, the dermis hosts all the good stuff that provides many of the skin’s functions: nerve endings to help you feel, hair follicles for your pelitos, sweat glands, and collagen and elastin fibers. The dermis is so dense with these structures that it needs plenty of blood vessels to carry hormones and nutrients to support its functions. Our innermost layer, the hypodermis (aka subcutaneous fat) provides the cushion and connection to other tissues that give our skin its structure.
How could you improve your skin?
Now that we know about our skin layers, we realize why there are so many skin care interventions that nourish the skin from the inside out. It also explains why some treatments are more intensive than others. Your average cosmetic only affects the epidermis. Other more thorough procedures like microneedling and mesotherapy can target the dermis, and Botox will reach the hypodermis and even the muscle underneath.
As we kick off our Skin Wellness Academy, we’ll get into the details on how to care for your body’s largest organ from the inside out, nurturing lush, happy skin at every stage of life. We’ll make sure you cover all your bases, and whether you’re a 16-step routine maven or a barely-there-sunscreen goblin girl, there will be something for everyone. Stay tuned!
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