The skin barrier consists of the (1) acid mantle of sebum and perspiration, (2) the hard outer skin proteins formed from dried and flattened skin cells, and (3) the underlying mixture of cells and protein fibers.
Computerized methods have been developed to study skin health and the effect of various skin products on skin function. These machine are “non-invasive”, meaning that no cuts or incisions are made into the skin. Such machines measure:
- transepithelial
water loss
- subcutaneous
blood flow
- skin erythema
(redness)
- the skin color
spectrum
- skin elasticity
- skin hydration
- skin strength
- skin morphological
structures using ultrasound
Damage to the Skin Barrier and Skin Conditions
The results obtained from skin barrier studies have emphasized the importance of a healthy skin barrier. What is found is that healthy skin has a strong resistance to damage and irritation. When the skin's barrier function is compromised, damage occurs that can produce:
- bacterial infections
- virus infections
- fungal infections
- allergic sensitivity
responses
- the start of
skin ulcers
- eczema
- irritant dermatitis
- less skin repair
and more rapid aging
- skin disfigurement
- blotches and
rashes
For example, a person might have a sensitivity to wool clothing. If the
skin barrier is healthy, the wool never reaches the reactive immune cells
(Langerhans cells) in the skin. Or a sensitivity to bacterial infections
will be markedly reduced with an adequate skin barrier. Conversely, soldiers
fighting in wet, muddy environments suffer serious skin barrier repair
and a plethora of skin infections, eczema, and rashes. Since a damaged
skin barrier losses water rapidly, the skin can become dry, flaky, cracked
and inflamed which predisposes the skin to infection from wart viruses
and bacteria.
| After Skin Barrier Damage,
Skin Can Be Damaged By:
1. Irritants enter causing eczema, skin allergies, and contact dermatitis 2. Virus fungi and bacterial enter causing skin infections (impetigo, athlete's foot, AIDS lesions) 3. Start of skin ulcers (diabetic, bedsores, venous stasis) |
 |
| Repair of the skin barrier, with a skin barrier repair agent such as BioHeal (www.bioheal.com), will restore the skin's protective qualities. |
 |
"Skin pH" is a chemist's term meaning "Potential of Hydrogen" and is used to measure the degree of acidity or alkalinity in the outer layers of the skin. It is measured on a scale ranging from 0 to 14 where the center of the scale, 7, is neutral (neither acid nor alkaline). A reading below 7 indicates that the substance being measured is acid and above 7 is alkaline. The pH system works in 10-fold multiples and each pH unit represents a 10-fold difference in alkalinity. For example, a soap with a pH of 10.5 has 10-times the alkalinity of a soap of pH 9.5.
The acid mantle is a combination of sebum (oily fats) and perspiration that is constantly secreted to cover the skin's surface and maintain a proper skin pH. Normal skin pH is somewhat acidic in the range of 4.2. to 5.6. It varies from one part of the body to another and, in general, the pH of a man's skin is lower (more acidic) than that of a woman's.
The Acid Mantle - Anti-oxidant, Water Repellent, Bacterial Inhibitor, and Protein Hardener
The acid mantle protects skin in several ways:
Antioxidant - The lipids (fats) in the mantle are sacrificially oxidized to protect the underlying skin from excessive oxidation. This is why "whiteheads" - which are un-oxidized sebum in pores - turn into "blackheads" as the sebum is oxidized.
Water Repellent - The fats in the mantle repel water from the skin much as the oil on a duck's feathers repels water. This keeps water from loosening and damaging the skin's outer layers of hard protective proteins and renders the skin less vulnerable to damage and attack by environmental factors such as sun and wind and less prone to dehydration.
Bacterial Inhibition - The acid pH of the mantle inhibits bacterial growth on the skin. The acid pH especially inhibits the growth of foreign, pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Thus, the skin remains healthier, and has fewer blemishes.
Maintains Protein Hardness - The outer skin proteins are made of keratin, a very hard protein, that is also used in nature to make horns on animals. Keratin must be kept at an acid pH to maintain its hardness by keeping the protective proteins tightly bound together. More alkaline pHs soften and loosen the fibers of keratin and create gaps in the protective covering. This allows more allergens, irritants, bacteria and viruses to penetrate into the skin. Acne, skin allergies and other skin problems become more severe when the skin becomes more alkaline.
"Mild" Soaps Often Damage Skin
"Mild" soaps are often alkaline (pH 9.5-11), and remove the natural acid protection as well as extracting protective lipids (fats) from the skin. In addition, such soaps often have high levels of synthetic detergents which both strip away the mantle and loosen the protective keratin proteins. Irritated and eczematous skins tend to have a more alkaline pH, and washing with soap can increase this alkaline state and make the skin even more vulnerable to irritation and infection.
The second key to maintaining the skin barrier is an adequate skin cell
replacement. Good skin cell turnover keeps a constant flow of cells moving
outward in the skin and a fresh supply of outer skin proteins to replace
older and more damaged skin protein. As outlined in Chapter 3, for persons
over age 30, the regular use, about four times a week, of a exfoliating
agent such as 7% to 10% glycolic acid or 1% to 2% salicylic acid will speed
skin turnover. Retinoic acid also works well but is more irritating and
a prescription item. Many persons use hydroxy acids three to four times
a week and retinoic acid two to three times a week.
Minimizing Damage to Delicate Skin
The skin of a delicate woman
is an example of softness and smoothness
united. Uvedale Price - Daily
Skin Care1. Take baths or showers as needed. Too much cleansing removes the skin's natural oil layer which increases evaporation of the skin's water. The skin oils are necessary to retain the skin's water. It is the naturally-retained water in the skin that increases it's suppleness and softness.
Showers soak the skin less than baths and are less drying. If you have skin irritations or dry skin, try to use lukewarm water. Hot water is more drying to the skin. Try to limit your time to fifteen minutes or less in the bath or shower. Minimize soaps and detergents. Bathing should be done no more than once a day. If you bathe too frequently with soaps, you will remove the natural oils from the skin and make the skin dryer. Long, hot bathes are wonderful relaxers, but should be limited to once or twice weekly.
But remember, swimmers traditionally have very good skin.
2. At times use steam baths and saunas as cleaning alternatives to bathing and showering. Less water is in contact with the skin and there is less removal of skin oils. Soaps are not used. Again sauna and steam bath users traditionally have very beautiful skin.
3. Avoid using harsh soaps which dry the skin and use very mild cleansers such as Gentle Clean. Make sure all the soap is rinsed from the skin before you leave the tub or shower. Deodorant soaps are often very harsh. Limit the use of soap to areas that develop an odor such as the armpits, genital area, and feet.
4. When toweling dry, gently rub the skin. Blot or pat dry so there is still some moisture left on the skin. Bath oils such as baby oil, mineral oil, Herbal Bath Oil, Lubriderm Bath Oil, or Neutrogena Body Oil can be applied to your wet skin after you emerge from the bath or shower. More natural alternative oils for skin are emu oil, squalane, or Calypso's Oil. Retinol in squalane works well to moisturize dry skin areas.
5. Astringents and Toners are very drying to skin and are not recommended. They can make the face look very clean and smooth by stripping the top layer of oil from the face and briefly tighten the skin. However, the skin responds by increasing oil production.
6. Filling your house with plants is one of the best ways of adding humidity to the air and reducing dry skin. Alternately, a water humidifier can keep the indoor air at healthy humidity levels.
During the teen-age years we have excessive skin oil production that leads to acne. But after age 40, sebum production drops, resulting in a drier skin. Dry skin is also called xerosis, or xerotic eczema (xeros is Greek for "dry"). Xerosis may occur in normal healthy skin or be caused by specific conditions in which the skin fails to secrete adequate oils such as Sjorgen's syndrome. Generally, as we get older there is a tendency for a drier, less oily skin. When skin become too dry, the outer skin layers become stiff and may develop cracks. The cracks become fissures into the skin which become irritated, inflamed and itchy.
Dry skin occurs more during the fall and winter months because of low humidity and too frequent bathing. Xerosis is often called "Winter Itch" because of its worsening in winter. The condition is worst in areas of the body with relatively few oil glands such as the arms, legs and trunk area. Some dermatologist feel that xerosis has worsened in recent years because people take more baths and showers. Fifty years ago, most people took one or two baths per week, and the skin had a chance to replace its natural skin oils between baths.
The best cure of dry skin is keeping your skin healthy. However, dermatologists often recommend creams or lotions for the cracking dry skin. These are products such as Aveeno Lotion, Cetaphil Cream, Curel, Dermasil, Lacticare, Moisturel, Purpose, Neutrogena, or Lubriderm. Use creams for single areas and lotions over extensive body areas. We find that more natural alternative oils such as emu oil, squalane, Calypso's Oil, or Retinol in squalane work very well to moisturize dry skin areas.
Cleansers for Sensitive, Dry, and Irritated Skin
Soaps, detergents and bubble baths remove dirt, body oils and bacteria, preventing odor and infection. Their use can cause itching and irritation. People with dry skin should choose a very mild soap or soapless cleanser, and use as little soap as possible. During a episode of very dry skin, bathe/shower with cool water and minimize water contact.
Soaps come in several different varieties. Deodorant soaps use an antibacterial agent to eliminate odors, but may be irritating. Beauty bar soaps contain synthetic detergents but are generally less drying and irritating.
Many soap and cleansers not only remove surface dirt and oils, but they actually damage the skin by destroying its natural acid mantle of sebum lipids. Removal of this protective and anti-oxidant barrier leads to the generation of more skin-damaging free radicals. This creates a dry, flaky skin which stimulates the production of more oil. The natural acidity of skin ranges from 4.2 to 5.6, but many soaps are very alkaline at around pH 10. Even mild soaps usually have a very alkaline pH of 9.5. Keep in mind that every change in one pH unit (a logarithmic system) increases alkalinity by 10-fold and a soap of pH 10 has 1,000 times more alkalinity than a soap at pH 7.0.
Skin Biology's cleanser is called Gentle Clean (as a solid bar or liquid soap) which was designed as a cleanser for very sensitive and damaged skin (especially the skin of cancer patients after chemotherapy or radiation treatments). Nurses and physicians report that the cleanser works very well on sensitive and fragile skin such as which occurs with eczema, in the bedridden, or after cancer therapy. Some nurses and physicians have told us that they think the cleanser has skin healing properties.
Gentle Clean also works well for skin cleaning during exfoliation. It is a good cleaning system for persons as risk for skin damage such as those with eczema, psoriasis, or diabetes. Fragile skin can literally be dissolved by strong soaps. Gentle Clean comes as clear, translucent cleansing bars or a liquid version and contains no harsh detergents, caustics, or "flash" foaming agents. The pH of the soap is 7.0, far below the alkalinity of other soaps. Gentle Clean bars and a liquid version can be ordered from Skin Biology at www.skinbio.com/gentleclean.html or by calling Skin Biology's 24 hour toll-free telephone at (800) 405-1912.
Another approach has been developed by Dr. Peter Pugliese, more of the world's most innovative dermatologists. Pugliese designed a cleanser built around a ultra-light oil derived from soybean oil. This cleansing oil is formulated to dissolve makeup and dirt while leaving the skin's natural lipid barrier intact. This product ($24 for 4 oz.) can be obtained from Scandinavian Naturals at www.scandinaviannaturals.com.
Controlling Oily Skin, Sebum, Blackheads, and Acne
Oily skin with excessive sebum production presents a special problem. The excessive sebum can harden and block the hair pores. The plug is called a comedo. Plugs start as a white-colored blockage (or whitehead), then air oxidation darkens the sebum to form a "blackhead". Bacteria in the blocked hair pore begin to multiply and produce the irritation that becomes acne. Birth control pills, steroid hormones, and androgenic hormones such as testosterone can cause or aggravate acne. Acne tends to flare up during the menstrual cycle as hormonal fluctuations are experienced prior and during ovulation.
Cystic acne, comedonal acne, papular acne, pustular acne, nodular acne are all variations of the same basic disorder. Acne may occur on all areas of the body, but is more prevalent on the face, back and chest.
Retinoic acid (also called vitamin A acid, Retin A®, Tretinoin) and Accutane® (13 cis retinoic acid (also called isotretinoin) are two acid forms of vitamin A (retinol). Retinoic acid and Accutane both reduce sebum production and minimize acne but can often be very irritating to the skin.
Differin®, which has a chemical name of adapalene, is a product of Galderma Laboratories. It is a new anti-acne retinoid which is available as adapalene topical cream, 0.1% and adapalene topical gel, 0.1%. Like retinoic acid, it is a potent modulator of cellular differentiation, and appears to normalizes the differentiation of follicular epithelial cells resulting in decreased oil production. It prevents or reduces the production of blackheads, whiteheads, and microcomedones. (Shalita, Weiss, Chalker, et al. "A comparison of the efficacy and safety of adapalene gel 0.1% and tretinoin gel 0.025% in the treatment of acne and vulgaris: A multicentre trial." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. March, 1996) It is said to be less irritating and more effective than retinoic acid but side effects can occur such as s such as erythema, dryness, scaling, burning and hypersensitivity to sunlight. Certain patients may be hypersensitive to the drug and it is not recommended for pregnant women or those who may become pregnant.
For badly infected acne, dermatologists often prescribe a oral and topical antibiotics to reduce the risk of scarring.
One very promising new non-drug approach to clear blocked pores acne is the use of "paste-on" strips that are coated with a adhesive glue which bonds to the blackhead. The strip is applied to the affected area of the face, allowed to dry, then pulled off along with the blackhead or comedo. Products such as BioRe Cleansing Strips (sold by The Andrew Jergen Company) and similar products are sold in most stores that carry skin products. Many people prefer another approach to unblock pores that uses a glue-like liquid that is spread on affected areas of the face. The liquid hardens and is then peeled off alone with the blackheads.
Salicylic Acid and CP Serum to Reduce Acne
Many clients of Skin Biology tell us that they reduce or eliminate acne by using 2% salicylic acid (either Skin Biology's Exfol Serum or 2% salicylic acid pads available in drug stores) as a mild scrub on the affected skin region in the morning and evening, then follow this with an evening application of CP Serum. These are available at www.skinbio.com.
Oily skin that secretes large amounts of sebum has large pores while dry skin lacking sufficient skin oil has small pores. Obviously, people want small pores but not the attendant dry skin. Oil removing solutions rarely help since the skin produces more oil and larger pores to compensate for the removed oil. Both retinoic acid and glycolic acid reduce skin oil production and pore size, but glycolic acid is easier to use.
Increasing skin renewal also reduces pore size since the firmer and thicker skin helps squeeze the pore downward and inward. During aging, our skin becomes more thin and pores become more prominent. Skin renewal serums and creams that increase collagen, elastin, and proteoglycans and increase the amount of subcutaneous fat (the very thin layer under the skin) both firm the skin and increase its thickness. Our customers often tell us that CP Serum ( 1 oz. for $14.95, 4 oz. for $33.95) or Protect & Restore ( 2 oz. for $21.95, 4 oz. for $33.95 ) (www.skinbio.com) produce these effects.
Saunas, Hot Tubs, and Steam Baths
Saunas and hot tubs are best known for their beneficial effect on skin. Skin is nourished from the inside - in contrast externally applied moisturizing creams provide only temporary palliatives. The high heat of the sauna floods the skins cells with a greatly enhanced blood flow. Pore-clogging oils and waxes are softened to allow normal pore function and removal of pore-clogging waxes. The skin is a major excretory organ for wastes - the heat- induced perspiration cleans the accumulated residue of dead cells, rancid oils, bacteria and perspiration wastes.
The warming of saunas and hot tubs improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure, kills disease organisms and inhibits cancer growth. Levels of hormones such as thyroid stimulating hormone, adrenaline, noradrenaline, growth hormone and renin are increased.
While some gerontologists have suggested that higher heat may increase free radical production in the body, such concerns appear unfounded. The maximum life spans of humans in warm areas of the world are similar to those in cold areas. Also, many cold-blooded reptiles are short-lived while birds such as crows with temperature of 105 to 110F can live over 90 years. Although concerns are often raised about the effect of heat and water on the skin, most of these problems are due to overuse of saunas and hot tubs, and to detergents and disinfectants used in the water. Also, sometimes improperly cleaned hot tubs have bacteria which produce "hot tub itch".
It is reputed the in the 5th century B.C., Scythians north of the Black Sea used steam as a ritual for purification of the body and soul. Hot rocks were carried into a teepee-like steam house and plunged into water creating the steam for bathers.
In Rome, the first public
bathhouses were constructed during the reign of Augustus in 20 B.C. The
painting at the left is an 18th century artist's conception of women bathing
in the baths at Rome. Building of baths reached its climax in 217 A.D.
with the completion of the baths of Caracalla. This 33 acre complex could
accommodate 18,000 bathers at one time and featured gigantic bathing facilities
offering hot-air and hot-water bathing, massage rooms, gymnasia, gardens,
theaters, and even libraries - its ruins remain a tourist attraction today.
The Finns developed the modern type of steam bath with the sauna (pronounced
"saw-na") and profoundly believed that the sauna purged the body of impurities
and emotional fatigue. Traditional Finnish saunas are housed in a wooden
building built of logs and heated by a wood-burning stove called a "kula".
The purist Finns hold that any and all time in the sauna must be considered
leisure time and sacred territory - in which to meditate and relax - or
at the most quietly socialize.
Starting Sauna and Hot Tub Use
Some cautions are necessary when beginning hot tub and sauna use. Use a heat level that you can tolerate - with time there is a tendency to increase the temperature (you start feeling cold in a sauna at 160 degrees F). But let your body adapt over several weeks to the use of higher temperatures and longer times. Start with low temperatures and short times of heating. Do not eat for 2 hours before heating your body. You should not raise your body temperature above about 105 degrees F - even after becoming acclimated to the sauna. Red blood cells begin to harden at 117 degrees F (48 degrees C) which can impede their passage through capillaries [G.B. Nash and H.J. Meiselman, Alteration of red blood cell membrane viscoelasticity by heat treatment. Biorheology 22, 73-84, 1985; D. Lerche and H. Baumler, Moderate heat treatment of red blood cells (RBC) slow down the rate of RBC-RBC aggregation in plasma. Biorheology 21, 393-403, 1985].
Pregnant women should be especially cautious and avoid long-lasting saunas and heated baths which may harm the fetus. However, a study of Finnish women - of whom 98.5% use saunas while pregnant - found common birth defects to be among the lowest of any country in the world [L. Saxen, P.C. Holmberg, M. Nurminen and E. Kuosma, Sauna and congenital defects, Teratology 25, 309-313, 1982. ]. In males, sperm numbers fall for a week after sauna use but recover in 5 weeks. In cases of suspected male infertility, excessive heat should be temporarily avoided [P.D. Brown-Woodman, E.J. Post, G. Gas and I. White, The effect of a single sauna exposure on spermatozoa, Arch. Androl. 12, 9- 15, 1984.]. Persons with hereditary pyropoikilocytosis, a rare congenital disease observed in patients of African extraction, possess unusually sensitive red blood cells that can be damaged by temperatures as low as 107 degrees F and should be especially cautious. [D. Dhermy, C. Feo, M. Garbarz et al, Study of erythrocyte deformability in a new case of hereditary pyropoikilocytose using diffraction viscosimetry. Nouv. Rev. Fr. Hematol. 25, 7-16, 1983].
Alcohol use coupled with the heat of a sauna or hot tub can cause extreme vasodilation. This combination can lower blood pressure to the point of fainting and unconsciousness. Inebriated hot tubbers have been found after several days of slow cooking in tubs. After the bathing, let your body cool slowly down- for the same reason as after vigorous exercise - to allow your vascular system to readjust to normal function. The traditional Finnish sauna of 200-210 F is very hot and the steam from the water poured on the rocks causes profuse perspiration. After the sauna, allow the body to cool slowly - wrap it in a towel if necessary. Cold showers should not be taken for at least half an hour. Mineral spas are much the same as hot tubs - except the highly mineralized water bring minerals to the skin surface. Some of the beneficial effects of mineral baths may be the uptake of minerals into the body.
Protect hands against soaps, cleansers and other chemicals by wearing vinyl gloves. Have four or five pair and keep them in the kitchen, bathroom, nursery and laundry areas. Have other pairs for non-wet housework and gardening. Avoid rubber gloves since many people are sensitive to them. Always replace any gloves that develop holes. Dry gloves out between cleaning jobs. Wear your gloves even when folding laundry, peeling vegetables or handling citrus fruits or tomatoes. When outdoors in cool weather, wear unlined leather gloves to protect against dry and chapped skin.
Keep your hands out of soapy water as much as possible, and avoid hand washing dishes or clothes as much as you can. When you wash your hands, use lukewarm water and very little soap. Remove rings whenever washing or working with your hands. They trap soap and moisture next to skin.
Use an automatic dishwasher. Not only does this protect your hands, but the dishwasher is able to effectively sterilize your dishes which is very difficult to achieve by hand washing alone.
Eyelids are the most sensitive skin on the body and need special attention. Eye cosmetics are very irritating. Use a minimum of eye shadow, eye liner and mascara. Apply a very light amount of Emu Oil of Squalane before applying the color cosmetics.
CP Night Eyes was developed by Skin Biology for use around the eyes and on eyelids.
Let Your Natural Bacteria Protect You
Normal skin has about 81,000 bacteria per square centimeter. These normally harmless bacteria arrive after birth and remain for your lifetime. They protect you from the establishment of disease causing harmful bacteria by filling the niches in the skin's environment that harmful bacteria could occupy.
If excessive use of disinfectants removes your natural bacteria, then more harmful strains may infect the skin. While people worry over environmental bacteria, your best protection against harmful bacteria is a healthy skin with a resistant barrier.
Persons working in professions (hospital surgery, food preparation) that require extensive hand washing face special difficulties. Foreign bacteria are best at invading chronically wet skin. Use sterile gloves when possible to keep the hands dry. Unfortunately, about 15% of people have abnormally sensitive skin and even modest washing can produce serious skin inflammations and eczema.
Regular Aerobic Exercise Improves Skin Health
A regular program of aerobic exercise can markedly improve skin quality
and overall health. Exercise increases the blood capillary density in the
skin and improve the nutrition of skin cells. Three to five hours a week
of vigorous exercise increases overall body metabolism and indirectly helps
your skin. Moderate exercise improves blood flow and retards many changes
commonly attributed to aging. Prolonged periods of moderate exercise reduces
weight more effectively than short-bursts of muscle-building exercise.
People who live to advanced ages have a life filled with long-walks or
field work - not conditioning training. Mail carriers are the longest-lived
occupational group in the USA. The body "wears-out" faster from a lack
of use than overuse. Physical ability decreases less with age than commonly
believed. Exercise should be fun and reduce your stress levels. Moderate
exercise is as healthful as stressful exercise. Golf, hiking, walking,
hunting, fishing, and even gardening are healthful exercises.
A ten year follow-up of middle aged men who exercised regularly found none of the expected decline associated with middle age such as increased weight and blood pressure. At an average age of 55, these men had a 20% higher work capacity than men of similar age. Healthy men in their 50's who exercise vigorously display a tissue oxygen uptake capacity (an excellent indicator of overall cardiovascular function) that is 20-30% higher than sedentary young men R. S. Paffenbarger, A L. Wing and R. T. Hyde, Physical activity as an index of heart attack risk in college alumni, Am. J. Epidemiol. 108, 161-175, 1978).
Exercise increases mitochondria and an enhanced workforce of hormones and enzymes to create energy. Trained muscle takes up oxygen at a rate 2 to 4 times faster than untrained muscle and generates aerobic (with oxygen) energy two to four times faster. Five months of training typically reduces the rise in blood lactic acid (which causes muscle cramps) by two thirds and doubles muscle aerobic capacity. In the lungs, exercise increases both the blood capillary density and the number of air sacs thus improving the uptake of oxygen into the blood and facilitating the removal of blood carbon dioxide. More work can be accomplished with less breathing effort as aerobic capacity increases.
How Much Exercise is Needed?
Exercise physiologist David Coastal (Ball State University) determined the rate of loss of conditioning after stopping exercise. The ability of the muscles to produce aerobic energy decreases most rapidly, dropping by 50% in 1 week. Other indices of conditioning drop more slowly. The capillary density decreases by 10 to 20% after 5 to 12 days. The capacity of the heart to pump blood (cardiac output) starts to diminish after 5 to 12 days of inactivity. Athletic performance - such as distance times of runners - shows little loss with one week of inactivity. Sometimes running performances may improve after 2 to 5 days of rest.
The rise in blood lactic acid following exercise is a measure of physical condition. Person in better physical condition have a smaller rise in lactic acid after exercise. When persons who normally exercise stop exercising for one week, their blood lactic acid after exercise testing is 22% higher than it was when they were in peak physical condition. After 4 weeks of no exercise, when they are tested, their lactic acid rises 88% above the level when they were in peak condition. Well trained muscle contains more glycogen than untrained muscle, but after four weeks of sloth even this advantage is lost. Two months of inactivity will wipe out about 90% of the conditioning gained through exercise. Highly gifted athletes perform no better than the normal population after 9 months of inactivity [David Coastal, The Runner , November 1984, p. 41. ]. The amount of exercise needed to maintain conditioning is 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every 2 to 3 days. To improve your level of conditioning an increased exercise level - 40 to 60 minutes per day - is required.
Dry skin is caused by two problems: (1) Damage to the skin's protective
barrier which produces excessive water loss through the skin, and (2) a
reduction in the concentrations of the skin's water-holding sugars and
proteins the proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Copper-peptides
act by repairing the skin barrier and raising proteoglycans and GAGs. Waxes
and oils seal the skin's surface and prevent excessive water loss. Cosmetic
moisturizers loosen the skin's protective barrier and hydrate (wet) the
skin proteins but at the expense of skin damage.
| Method | How method works | Time to be effective | Problems | Recommended |
| SRCPs | Mimics natural repair
Repairs skin barrier and increases the skin's proteoglycans and GAGs |
About 2 to 3 weeks | None | Protect
& Restore and CP Serum
Neutrogena Visibly Firm TM NeovaTM |
| Waxes and Greases | Heavy oils such as
petrolatum seal skin surface to water loss |
Immediate | Greasy | |
| Light Oils | Light oils such as
sesame oil seal skin surface to water loss |
Immediate | Not as durable as waxes and greases | Calypso's Oil |
| Biological Oils | Oils similar to human skin oils | Immediate | Not as durable as waxes
and greases
but stimulates skin repair |
Emu Oil S |
| Squalane from olive oil | Immediate | Like emu oil but more protective | Emu Oil S | |
| Retinol in Squalane
Increases natural skin oils |
2 weeks | Avoid acne prone areas | Retinol/Squalane | |
| Cosmetic
moisturizers |
Designed to rapidly swell the skin to look better at the cosmetic counter. Mixtures of oils, water, and surface active chemicals used to open skin barrier and hydrate skin proteins |
Minutes | Acts like irritant
Loosens protective skin barrier Skin more susceptible to infection |
Not recommended |
Many Moisturizers and Emollients Damage Skin
From Skin and Allergy News, April 1997.
Many moisturizers and emollients sold by major skin care companies delay the healing of irritated and damaged skin and make the situation worse by inhibiting natural skin repair. According to Dr. Halker-Sorenson (Skandborg, Denmark), new computerized instruments have demonstrated that many popular moisturizers increase skin damage in methods similar to skin irritants.
Nor are skin barrier creams an answer such as those containing petrolatum and lanolin. Dr. Charles Ellis (Ann Arbor, Michigan) commented, "In my experience and from what I can garner (from the literature), I don't think they work very well. What we need is to protect the skin surface and to heal the skin from within, by putting the skin in a situation in which normal skin repair can occur."
Virtually all of popular moisturizers and emollients sold by skin care companies contain high concentrations of detergents and detergent-like chemicals - despite 40 years of scientific evidence that these detergents damage the skin and degrade the skin's natural protective function. Also damaging to skin are many of the dyes and optical diffusers used to give the appearance of healthy skin.
Another, mistake is to add to skin creams certain lipids that occur naturally in the skin - hoping that this replenishes skin lipids and improves skin health. However, what recent research has found, is that adding natural skin fats and lipids to skin creams causes a reduction in the skin's natural biosynthesis of skin fats and lipids so that, in a few weeks, the skin is in worse condition than before.
Emu Oil as a Lipid Replenishment Moisturizer
Lipids and fats in the skin provide the epidermal barrier to transcutaneous water loss. These lipids in the upper skin area called the stratum corneum are arranged in layers called lamellae. The lower skin layers contain more typical fats such as triglycerides and phospholipids while the upper layers have more ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids.
While lipid replenishment methods are still being developed by dermatological scientists, emu oil is already a very good natural oil for lipid replenishment. It comes from a small ostrich-like bird.
For biological skin moisturization and lipid replenishment, Skin Biology has created Emu Oil S for Skin with tocotrienols, 7-keto DHEA, and ubiquinone. For more on Emu Oil S for skin, see www.skinbio.com/moisturizers.html.
Types of Common Skin Cosmetics
Cosmetics contain ingredients from nature and chemical plants. Most of the advertised ingredients in cosmetics have no value. For example, aloe vera, a plant from the lily family, has anti-irritant properties when at a sufficient concentration. However, at levels in many skin creams, it has no biological action. The same is true of many vitamins added to skin creams.
Skin Creams
Most skin creams are emulsions of either oil in water or water in oil. In an emulsion, tiny droplets of one ingredient are dispersed throughout the other ingredients and stabilized by surface active agents called surfactants, detergents, or emulsifying agents which lower surface tension. Most of the surface active agents are strong skin irritants.
While there are several kinds of skin creams, they all serve primarily to lubricate, soften, and moisten the skin. Conditioning creams were once very greasy because they contained large amounts of film-forming fatty substances such as petrolatum, mineral oil, beeswax, spermaceti, and derivatives of animal and vegetable fats and oils. Most present-day creams, however, are made to soften and moisten the skin rather than to lubricate it. Moisturizing creams are high in substances that hold water and reduce evaporation. Their use softens the horny layer of the skin which also reduces the skin's natural protective properties. Lanolin derivatives are effective moisturizers and are treated to form an odorless, light-colored product containing about 25 percent cholesterol.
Foundation creams are similar to moisturizing creams but are designed
to provide an undercoating for facial cosmetics such as powder and rouge.
Vanishing
cream is a greaseless foundation high in stearic acid, which gives
a pearly appearance when it is combined with an emulsifying agent. To match
various skin shades, these vanishing creams are often tinted with pigments
such as sienna, ocher, and iron oxides, then are imparted with an opaque
quality with zinc oxide and titanium oxide. The pigments and opacity agents
hide blemishes; such as birthmarks. Bleaching agents may be added to vanishing
creams to lighten freckles and other brown spots.
Avoid Skin Oxygenating Products
Certain cosmetic products are sold to increase skin oxygenation. This is done either by (1) covering the face with a mask and running a flow of pure oxygen over the face for about an hour, or (2) covering the skin with certain chemicals that carry extra oxygen into the skin. If skin is damaged, this method may cause an improvement in skin within a few days.
The problem with this method is that it will cause long-term skin problems. By artificially increasing the oxygen level in your skin, your body will decrease the blood vessels (capillaries) that feed oxygen and nutrients to the cells of your skin. Capillaries grow towards areas of the body that are low in oxygen. By adding more oxygen to the outer layers of your skin, your cells will receive less oxygen and nutrients from your body. Your skin will age faster because of inadequate nutrients from the blood and your skin will be more pale and grayish as fewer red blood cells perfuse your skin.
Companies that sell these products say that oxygen applied to the skin has been used to heal wounds faster in hospital studies. This is true, but these types of wounds and skin ulcers are temporary and this is an emergency therapy to heal over the wound and reduce the chance of infection. Long-term application of high oxygen to your skin's surface will not improve the health of normal skin.
Plant Extracts Are Often Toxic To Skin
Certain plants such as aloe and comfrey (which contains allantoin) have traditionally been used as healing agents. Many plants or plant extracts have medicinal value when used in strictly controlled conditions, but can cause discomfort, injury and death in other circumstances. Buttercups traditionally were used externally to relieve pain but can cause severe skin irritation. Foxglove is the commercial source of the well-known heart drug, digitalis, but is often fatal to grazing cattle. Often different species of animals are sensitive to plants - woolly paperflower plant is toxic to sheep but not cattle.
Most plants avoid being eaten by insects, birds, and mammals because they are filled with poisons and carcinogens which can irritate and damage skin. We all know about the problems with poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac in North America. In Texas, more than 100 species of plants that are toxic to grazing cattle have been identified. For example, sacahuista causes photosensitization (hyper-reaction to sunlight), which results in inflammation, swelling and sloughing of the skin. Chronic poisoning from perennial broomweed usually causes pregnant cattle to abort. Plants which produce toxic amounts of prussic acid (i.e., sorghum species) can kill cattle within 15 minutes. In contrast, threadleaf groundsel may not produce illness or death for one year after consumption. Threadleaf groundsel poisons the liver, while bitterweed, oaks and sacahuista cause nitrate poisoning. African rue, western bitterweed, twinleaf senna, whitebrush and mesquite all poison cattle.
Even plants that contain beneficial compounds often are poisonous as pure extracts. Extracts of St. John's-Wort are used to combat depression and the plant is mentioned in Gerard's Herbal (late 16th Century) as a "a moste precious remedie for deepe woundes, or any wound made with a venomed weapon", but the plant is very poisonous to cattle.
Other plants, and even
common foods cause skin irritations in sensitive persons. The following
plants may cause primary irritant dermatitis.
| Foods that often cause irritation | Plants that often cause irritation | Trees that often cause irritation |
| Tomato | Dieffenbachia | Rubber tree |
| Carrot | Castor Bean | Fig tree sap |
| Mushroom | Daffodil | |
| Cucumber | Buttercup | |
| Parsnip | Foxglove | |
| Turnip | Tulip bulb | |
| Parsley | Narcissus bulb | |
| Celery | Cowslip | |
| Milkweed |
Plants which may cause contact photo-sensitization include figs, parsley, carrots, dill, lime, buttercup, mustard, Klamath weed, and celery.
Many skin products are marketed without safety testing and exotic plant extracts have high incidences of skin irritation. Some natural plant extracts fall outside the definitions of cosmetic ingredients and have never been tested for safety. Many skin care companies advertise the value of various combinations of exotic plant extracts in their products but provide no independent clinical studies that support the product claims.
Avoid Skin Damaging Corticosteroids
Corticosteroids (or often just called "steroids") such as cortisone and prednisone are heavily used for the treatment of various skin irritations and dermatitis. They give immediate results in terms of reducing skin inflammations but produce damaged and thinned skin (often 50% to 60% thinner) by inhibiting the natural skin repair processes. The immune cells (white cells) both cause skin inflammation and skin healing. Corticosteroids act like sledgehammers and stop both processes - both the inflammation and the skin repair. In experimental wound healing studies, cortisone is often used to delay healing by mimicking the action of poorly-healing wounds. Cortisone also causes skin bruising - usually at the upper limbs and forearms and especially at doses greater than 7.5 mg/day, and the incidence of viral, bacterial and mycotic infections.
Use of corticosteroids produces a vicious cycle requiring more corticosteroid use due to more irritations from the weakened skin. The use can promote diabetic conditions, thymus involution, immune suppression, the spread of cancers, bone damage, and cataracts. It is estimated that 5,000 hip replacements yearly in Canada are due to overuse of corticosteroids.
Avoid Skin Irritants and Allergens that Cause Eczema and Dermatitis
About sixty percent of people have some degree of dermatitis and some suffer throughout life. The key to avoiding dermatitis is maintaining a healthy skin barrier and avoiding those irritants that are specific to your situation. Allergies can be highly specific to a allergy sensitive person. Allergic sensitivity is mediated by a protein called immunoglobulin E. In a non-allergic person, the blood levels of immunoglobulin E range from 0 to 5 nanograms/milliliter; however, in a allergy sensitive person these levels may rise to 2,000 nanograms per milliliter which increases the person's sensitivity to allergens. Thus, if you are extremely sensitive to irritants and allergens, avoidance of any offending allergen becomes very critical. Your dermatologist has a variety of skin tests that can help you identify items to avoid.
Irritant Contact Dermatitis breaks down the skin barrier but does not involve the immune system. Burning, stinging, itching and redness may be signs that a product is irritating the skin. Often the offending product literally dissolves the skin. Bath soaps, detergents, antiperspirants, eye cosmetics, moisturizers, permanent hair waving solutions and shampoos are the most common skin irritants. Even water can irritate very dry skin.
As with allergies, avoidance of irritating products is the best course. For the past 30 years, the types of irritants that damage skin have been well established. However, most cosmetic companies continue to produce cosmetics with known irritants because items such as detergents create cheap, very stable creams and lotions that look very good when placed on the skin. The cost of materials in a typical cosmetic product averages about $0.02 per ounce.
Allergic contact dermatitis occurs in someone who is allergic to a specific ingredient or ingredients in a product. Symptoms include redness, swelling, itching and blisters. People will usually react whenever they are exposed to the ingredient, although it could take up to several days for the symptoms to appear. Common allergens include nickel, rubber, dyes, preservatives, fragrances, poison ivy, poison oak and related plants.
In about 10% of dermatitis cases, certain foods provoke skin irritation and avoiding them produces an improvement or a cure. It is a slow process to eliminate foods to track down your particular sensitivity. Allergic skin tests sometimes help track down the offenders. Foods such as cow's milk, soy, eggs, fish, wheat, and peanuts are often the problem. However, once you identify your food sensitivities, the problem is solved for your lifetime.
Elimination of contact or airborne substances may help. Dust and dust catching objects like feather pillows, down comforters, kapok pillows and mattresses, carpeting, drapes, some toys, and wool along with other rough fabrics, can cause the condition to worsen. Home air cleaners markedly reduce dust and skin irritations.
In some persons atopic dermatitis, the inhalation of house dust mite allergen can worsen dermatitis. In a recent study at University Hospital in Groningen (The Netherlands), twenty persons with atopic dermatitis inhaled house dust mite allergen. Nine out of the 20 persons had skin symptoms after inhaling the house dust mite allergen such as new itching lesions and the exacerbation of existing lesions. The onset of skin symptoms occurred between 2 and 17 hours after the exposure and persisted up to five days. All of the persons with house dust mite-induced dermatitis had a history of asthma and had a higher mean blood total of immunoglobulin E (IgE), the allergic mediating antibody.
Previous studies have shown the majority of patients with atopic dermatitis have increased serum levels of house dust mite-specific immunoglobulin E. Dermatitis may develop after the allergens cross the respiratory barrier, enter the blood stream and are distributed to the skin. In the skin they interact with several cell types bearing IgE molecules or IgE receptors and produce dermatitis.
Such dermatitis is best reduced by having a dermatologist administer desensitizing injections and the use of air cleaners in houses and sleeping areas.
Fragrances, preservatives and lanolin, ingredients commonly found in cosmetics, cause many skin problems. Fragrances cause more allergic dermatitis than any other ingredient.
More than 5,000 different fragrances are used in skin care products, from the most common sources - toilet water, perfume, cologne and bath powder - to toilet paper, soap, shampoo and household products. Fragrance free products can be used by people with a fragrance allergy, but unscented products still have a fragrance added to cover up the smell of the chemicals.
Preservatives in cosmetics and skin care products are the second most common cause of skin reactions. They prevent bacterial and fungal growths that can cause skin infections, and protect products from oxygen and light damage. Cosmetics that contain water must include some type of preservative. Persons who react to one preservative will not necessarily react to others. There are very few truly preservative free products, but persons may be sensitive to only one preservative chemical and not others. Preservative-free skin products run the danger of containing bacteria and fungi which cause worse skin problems than the preservatives.
Lanolin used in skin care products as a skin conditioner can produce swelling, itching and redness of the eyelids. Many products labeled "hypoallergenic," meaning "causing reduced allergy," contain lanolin.
Astringents remove natural skin oils and soap residue from the skin. They are generally drying and may contain water, alcohol, propylene glycol, witch hazel or salicylic acid. Individuals with dry, sensitive or irritated skin may experience itching, burning or tingling following their use. They are often used to remove excessive skin oils, but they tend to increase skin oil production.
Moisturizers prevent water loss by layering an oily substance over the skin to keep water in or by attracting water to the outer skin layer from the inner skin layer. Substances that stop water loss include petrolatum, mineral oil, lanolin and silicone products. Substances that attract water to the skin include glycerin, propylene glycol, proteins and some vitamins.
Sunscreens contain chemicals that absorb, reflect or scatter light. Light absorbing chemicals include the PAPA esters and the cinnamates and many chemical sunscreens are used industrially as free-radical generators. They are mixed into batches of chemicals, then flashed with ultraviolet light to generate free radicals that start chemical reactions. People can be allergic to either, but allergies to both are rare. Physical sunscreens, also known as "chemical free" sunscreens, contain ground titanium dioxide. There are no known allergies to physical sunscreens.
Despite the widespread introduction of chemical sunscreens into cosmetic, you should avoid cosmetics with chemical sunscreens. Scientific reasons for avoiding chemical sunscreens are given in www.skinbiology.com/morehealthysuntanning.html.
The eyelids are the most sensitive skin on the body. Eye cosmetics include eye shadow, eye liner and mascara. The lighter colored, matte-finish powdered eye shadows are less irritating. Using water-soluble cosmetics reduces the irritation often caused by solvents use to remove waterproof eye liner and mascara. never share eye cosmetics and replace them every three to four months. Keep in mind that other irritating and allergenic substances can enter the eye area by the fingers.
Lips lose moisture faster than other parts of the face because they have an very thin outer protective layer (stratum corneum) and are especially vulnerable to cold, dry air and harsh winds. It is important to protect lips during and after exposure to winter weather. Lip cosmetics, lipsticks and lip balms are used to protect and moisturize dry and cracked lips. But some long wearing lip stains have been linked to contact dermatitis.
There are several types of shampoos: mild baby shampoos that don't irritate the eyes; conditioning shampoos cleanse lightly and leave hair soft; shampoos for oily hair remove oil; and shampoos for damaged hair that are pH-adjusted to prevent more damage.
Conditioners apply fat molecules and sometimes protein fragments to the hair shaft. This increases the hair shafts thickness and “body”, makes hair shiny, easier to comb and style and more manageable. They are not a common source of skin reactions.
Deodorants and Antiperspirants
Deodorants kill bacteria and leave a pleasant smell. Antiperspirants prevent sweating. The fragrance in deodorants and the aluminum salts in antiperspirants rarely causes problems. Skin irritation can occur if these products are used on already irritated skin, right after shaving or spread too widely around the armpit.
Nickel allergy is the most common dermatitis and afflicts about 25% of people. - Nickel, part of certain metals, is found in many products. Many chrome plated objects contain enough nickel to produce a reaction in sensitive people. Stainless steel also contains nickel, but it is bound so tightly it is safe for most nickel sensitive individuals
Earrings containing nickel can cause earlobe dermatitis, a very common problem in people allergic to nickel. This may start with the needles used to pierce ears, and earrings. Only sterile stainless needles should be used for piercing. After piercing wear only nickel free earrings for at least the first three weeks.
Clothing accessories made of nickel buckles, zippers, buttons and metal clips can cause dermatitis. Nickel sensitive people can substitute nylon accessories.
Sweating increases dermatitis in nickel sensitive people. In the summer, items containing nickel can cause an itchy, prickly sensation within 15 to 20 minutes of touching sweaty skin. A rash may appear within a day or two. These same items can be worn for several hours without any problems, if sweat is not present.
Skin-damaging cortisone or corticosteroids are usually prescribed for nickel allergy. An alternate and very effective treatment is the use of Protect & Restore cream which stops the inflammation and accelerates the repair of the nickel damaged skin. A paper in the cream's healing actions on nickel allergy, "An in vivo nickel allergic contact dermatitis human model for topical therapeutics", was presented by H. Zhai, Y. Chang, M. Singh and H. Maibach, at the Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in March 1998. For more information about Protect & Restore cream, see www.skinbio.com.
Rubber products often cause allergic contact dermatitis. Chemicals in rubber cause the reaction. Rubber can also cause immediate allergic reactions, including itching or burning and hives (welts) under the rubber object. Some people experience itching, tears from their eyes, and, on occasion, a shortness of breath. This is more common in people who wear tight fitting rubber gloves, such as medical workers. Rubber gloves may also cause dermatitis on the skin of the hands under the glove. Vinyl or other synthetic gloves may be substituted.
Most cases of allergic contact dermatitis from shoes are caused by ingredients in the rubber used in the shoe's construction. Adhesives, both rubber and non rubber, can also cause problems. Even leather shoes may contain adhesives. Shoes without rubber should be substituted.
Many women with rubber allergy can wear under garments with an elastic called spandex if they do not have rubbernecked fasteners or edges. Girdles and bras with no rubber are available.
Most people can color their hair without difficulty. However, some are sensitive to paraphenylene-diamine (PPD). This produces a rash that is caused ingredients found in permanents and hair dyes that are mixed with other chemicals, such as peroxide, before application. A final option to color hair is henna (vegetable dyes). However, henna doesn't work on all hair. Metallic or progressive dyes--also called hair-color restorers--are safe to use if the scalp is not irritated.
About 25% of PPD sensitivite people are allergic to certain local anesthetics, like benzocaine, that are chemical relatives of PPD. Substitutes may be used.
Laundry Detergents and "Dryer Sheets"
Many consumer products are very damaging to our skin. Virtually no laundry detergents, soaps and lotions are free of fragrances, dyes, additives, bleaches, and fabric softeners that may cause skin drying and itching. Dryer sheets used to control static often contain fragrances and chemicals that can enter your clothes and eventually your skin. The only chemical that should be in clothes after washing is water.
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study found numerous volatile
chemicals in fabric softeners and dryer sheets. ("Identification of Polar
Volatile Organic Compounds in Consumer Products and Common Microenvironments,"
1991 Reference: Lance Wallace, EPA, Phone (703) 341-7509). These included
Alpha-Terpineol which "can cause central nervous system disorders...",
"is highly irritating to mucous membranes" and is recommended to avoid
"repeated or prolonged skin contact." Benzyl Acetate - "From vapors: irritating
to eyes and respiratory passages" and "Can be absorbed through the skin
causing systemic effects." Limonene -"Prevent its contact with skin or
eyes because it is an irritant and sensitizer."
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