Amid all the extra hand washing and sanitiser use right now, who has desiccated hands??

I certainly do. And if, like me, you are prone to dermatitis and eczema then you already will have impaired barrier function – this is about the body’s reduced ability to make a certain protein that helps keep the skin intact. Prevent dermatitis taking hold NOW by looking after your skin.

MOISTURISE LOTS!! Your best protection against dermatitis is to ensure that the skin doesn’t dry out too much and split. Once skin splits, it can easily become inflamed and infected. Use gloves where possible to prevent having to wash so much and prevent coming into contact with chemicals that can further dry out or irritate your skin. Use moisturiser several times throughout the day, and put a thick layer on overnight before bed. I love a natural Vitamin E cream, but you could also mix it up with things from your kitchen like organic olive oil or coconut oil. Like most things right now – prevention is the best medicine!

Good skin comes from within.

Have a think about how you might be able to include some more of these nutrients in your diet.

• Fibre. Extremely important for cleaning out your digestive system and moving toxins and excess hormones out of the body. My favourite food sources of fibre include: Flaxseeds, chia seeds, psyllium husk, slippery elm, kiwi fruit and dried figs. 
• Fish Oil. Full of goodness for nourishing skin cells and working on that natural skin glow that we all want. It’s very important you take a good quality brand though. The general rule for fish oil, is the more expensive, the better the quality.
• Zinc. Helps to balance hormones, repair leaky gut and re-train skin cells to bounce back after pimples, reducing the risk of scaring long term. Zinc is present in high levels in nuts and seeds- particularly pumpkin & sesame seeds but also in leafy green vegetables.
• Probiotics. The link between the skin and the gut is very well documented, so any imbalances with your gut microbiome or bacterial overgrowths will be impacting on the microbiome of your skin. Reset this balance with daily probiotics.
• Water. 2 litres a day is vital for not only flushing out toxins and supporting healthy digestive function but it’s also important for hydrating skin.

Inflammation is a major driver of a number of chronic diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. IL-1B, IL-6 and TNF-a are inflammatory cytokines found in the body that have been linked to the development of numerous chronic diseases.

This pilot study looked at whether improving skin function reduces proinflammatory cytokine levels in older people. After 30 days of applying 3ml of an emollient moisturiser twice a day, blood levels of IL-1B and IL-6 reduced to levels comparable to young controls and levels of TNF-a decreased by over 40% suggesting that improving skin function can largely normalise circulating levels of three pro-inflammatory cytokines that are strongly associated with aging and disease.

While this is an area that obviously needs more research there’s certainly no harm in making this a daily self-care routine and you might just find you’re experiencing more health benefits than healthier skin.

Our skin is our largest organ and since it is porous it absorbs whatever you put on it so make sure you choose a product that’s free from toxic chemicals. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30835878