What to eat to have the most beautiful skin? How to live so that my skin looks forever young? How to feel so that my skin glows? If I had the answers to these questions, I'd definitely be a billionaire, I tell you! Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. Although we all belong to the same biological species, we are very different people. What applies to one person's skin is not necessarily the same as another person's. To understand this, let's clarify some of the similarities and differences between us.
The skin is our largest organ and measures almost two square meters. It protects us from dangerous intruders and is our real air conditioning; it measures temperature, secretes all sorts of fluids and secretions, absorbs light and converts it into heat. It is our antenna. There are also a lot of expressions related to the skin. They prove how important the skin is: he ran away to save his skin, my colleague has thick skin, but today I would rather jump out of my skin, today I don't feel good in my skin, this puppy got under our skin... They say that the skin is the mirror of our soul. A mirror on which the stories of our inner being, both physical and psychological, are written.
The appearance and phenomena on the skin are always the result of several factors: genetics, environment, life circumstances (e.g. amount of stress), psyche and nutrition. And I always tell my interlocutors that I am convinced that genetics is 80% responsible for the appearance of the skin. So, a huge amount. And unfortunately, we can hardly influence this 80%. The only thing we can do is to influence this minor 20%, if we can.
Influence No. 1: GENETICS
Does your mother still look youthful in her 70s? Does she age? And if your mother didn't have severe acne in her teens, her daughter almost certainly won't either. In many ways, we are "hardwired" from the very beginning. Interestingly, there is a growing interest in a different view of genetics, called epigenetics. Researchers are looking at how genes in our genetic makeup can be "turned on" or "turned off" by external factors. This research is still in its early stages, but it is promising!
Impact No. 2: ENVIRONMENT
People live in different environments: humid or dry, sunny or dark, dirty or clean, hot or cold. And our skin definitely reacts differently in each of these environments. If the skin is exposed to the sun a lot, for example, sun freckles appear, which are actually melanin-colored spots that fade in the winter. Some people love these freckles, others don't want them. Skin care in each of these environments must be adapted to the conditions.
Influence No. 3: LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES
A friend got seriously ill. We hadn't seen each other for 2 months. And when we met again, she seemed 10 years older to me. Another friend just returned from vacation. Her easygoing demeanor and slight tan are energizing. In 14 days, she really looked younger! Did I write before that the skin is a mirror of the inside?
Influence No. 4: PSYCHE
Many things we would rather hide are visibly noticeable – and the skin is an organ with which we have a hard time concealing our psychological state. It betrays many things: we blush, we turn pale, we get goosebumps, we sweat. With a mask (read: makeup, tattoos, piercings, Botox injections and more), by feeding wrinkles and cosmetic surgery, we change the natural story of our body, we intentionally change our mirror.
Influence No. 5: NUTRITION
Skin and nutrition are closely related. And this is where we can do the most to always “feel good in our own skin”. Food has a great influence on our well-being and health. The foods we put into our bodies affect our entire organism and metabolic processes. Food supplies energy and all the material for building our skin cells. Nutrient deficiencies, excess calories, food allergies and intolerances, digestive disorders and the composition of our blood – all of this is reflected on the skin.
CONCLUSION
With the words written above, I have very, very superficially touched on extremely important facts about the health of our skin. That is why I have decided to devote a few more words to individual influences in future diaries, because I want to describe and research them in detail. I will invite the relevant experts to do this - because I am not a dermatologist, I am not a nutritionist, and I am not a geneticist. I am just a researcher who is interested in everything about the skin. And since we learn all our lives, I hope that we learn something new and useful. So continue to invite you to Sunday reading.