The skin that God blessed us with comes in various colors, shapes and sizes and a lot of times, the proper care and maintenance of it is misunderstood. Many people are of the opinion that anything, or any product can be used to wash or moisturize the skin with and it will be okay. People assume that the skin is resilient and nothing will affect it, however, this is not so because what you do with your skin today will affect your skin tomorrow.
The skin is the largest organ of the human body. It has various functions and needs and functions in such a way as to provide an overall protection for us as we go about our day-to-day activities. It acts as a barrier that protects us against environmental pollutants, infections and irritants by alarming our immune system to attack anything that it does not recognize. By doing so, some potential bacterial infections, pollutants that can cause skin allergies and irritants are sometimes eliminated before we recognize what actually happened.
It also acts as a regulator of body temperature by decreasing the size of the blood vessels to allow for either the retaining of heat when we are cold or the release of heat when our bodies are hot by way of sweating. As a result of this skin function we are protected from extremes of increase or decrease in our body temperature. The skin also acts as a sensor by way of tiny hairs found all over the body. These fine hairs act like the whiskers of a cat that alert us to things in contact with our skin -- like knowing when an ant is crawling on your hand or the brush of a blade of grass on your bare feet. This sensory function also causes us to be aware of pain from the stick of a needle or the pleasure of a welcoming hug. Additionally, it communicates with our surroundings to either attract or repel people based on additional things that are added by nature such as moles, discolorations or dryness or that we add such as tattoos and piercings.
The skin has quite a bit to do every minute of every day and it is up to us to help maintain it so that it can perform at its best to protect us from the rest. In this column I will address all issues about skin conditions that can change the way the skin functions for children and adults, in addition to things that can be done to maintain a healthy, rejuvenated glowing skin.
oDr. Rokeisha Clare-Kleinbussink studied at Cosmetology Cosmetic Training for Dermal Filler in London, UK and attended the Academy of Beauty Training for Laser and Microdermabrasion in Nottinghamshire, UK. She is also an associate lecturer of dermatology at the University of The West Indies. She has a private practice at Roseona House of General and Cosmetic Dermatology and can be reached at 422-0202.
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