Skin Absorbs

We have all seen "Nicotine Patches" and those "Birth Control Patches" that rely on your skin to absorb chemicals.

Well, I believe that soap, lotions, and even just dirty water, can be absorbed in your skin and could possibly cause skin cancer, or other things.

A while back I bought a water purifier the connects to my shower head, and I swear I felt a difference on my skin. I also don't use any lotion, except for my face at times, which I want to train my skin to not need so I can eliminate possible problems.

Does anyone have any information about the chemicals your skin will and will not absorb? I believe our skin will eject the stuff it doesn't want, but I don't know if that holds true until it is already in your skin.

I read all kinds of stuff about Sunblock, and how it could possibly cause cancer, and I think it could be true.

What do you think?






[edit on 23-6-2008 by ALLis0NE]

I'm pretty sure skin absorbs just about anything. Radiation, chemicals, water, makeup, lotion, soap, drugs, hormones...anything it's exposed to. If you're interested in a nontoxic non chemical soap I really love Dr. Bronner's pure castille soap. It's a little expensive but it works great and smells even greater. Plus you can use it to wash anything - cars, dishes, laundry, hair, teeth.

Just curious, how did you train your skin not to need lotion?

Originally posted by sc2099
If you're interested in a nontoxic non chemical soap I really love Dr. Bronner's pure castille soap.

Hey thanks for the info!

Originally posted by sc2099
Just curious, how did you train your skin not to need lotion?

Well, it didn't work 100% effectively yet, and im still doing some testing, but I just slowly stopped using lotion so that my skin wouldn't depend on it.

I found that when you replace natural functions with artificial ones, your body starts to depend on the artificial. Almost exactly like addicting drugs.

Yes the skin soaks in just about whatever is in contact even air.There are therapies utilizing the larger pores of the bottom of the foot to excrete toxins by gravity, but I tried it and didn't notice much difference.
Hydrogen Peroxide baths actually allow the one oxygen atom to go in through the skin and is said to remove free radicals. Always a good thing. Skin is the largest organ of the body as we all know. That Dr. Bronner's IS good and I have tried the new orange and lemon, the mint can be overly cooling for me.

[edit on 24-6-2008 by human8]

reply to post by ALLis0NE


Very interesting. I'm a big lotion user so I was very interested. I get along without it mostly in the summer but when winter comes it's as much a part of my routine as brushing my teeth.

@ human8: I've never heard that about peroxide and free radicals. Interesting indeed.

Does anyone have anything else to add about things which are beneficial to the body that could be absorbed through the skin?

personally i have never had to nor used lotion on my skin, and thanks for the Dr. Bronner's soap info, i will try to get some and see how well it is.

Question, why would you need to use lotion?

reply to post by gkgoten100


Dry skin in general, dry skin from shaving (legs), dry skin from the winter. No one likes a girl with cracked crocodile skin!

p.s. for the Dr. Bronner's - the Peppermint is my favorite...it makes your whole house smell like mint. But they all smell really great and there's even an unscented one in case your skin is really sensitive.

Well when ya have a bath/shower/swim all your skin swells up after being in the water, so i'd say yes.. it definately does absorb things! Think about when you draw on your skin with a pen/permanent marker... it holds it in there for a while.
The cells that I studied in school all could 'breathe' as such by absorbing water through a process called osmosis. And we tested salt/freshwater solutions and had various outcomes (I think we popped some cells doing something weird using salt water??? not sure).

Here we go:
"Osmosis: the movement of water molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.

Cell membranes are completely permeable to water, therefore, the environment the cell is exposed to can have a dramatic effect on the cell. "

Scary.

Source:
www.tvdsb.on.ca...\



Now you really got me thinking... public pools


edit: re: shower head filter.
Talked a friends father last weekend about this.. he said he simply got a big replaceable filter for the entire water supply from point of entry into the house.. problem solved

[edit on 22/7/08 by GhostR1der]

Nice post GhostR1der.

Originally posted by GhostR1der
Now you really got me thinking... public pools

EEEEWWWW!

Yeah public water parks could give you diseases! I don't care how strong the chlorine is.

Originally posted by GhostR1der
re: shower head filter.
Talked a friends father last weekend about this.. he said he simply got a big replaceable filter for the entire water supply from point of entry into the house.. problem solved

Yes, BUT, you better hope the filter works good and you have all new pipes, because anything that makes it through will build up inside the pipes over time. Then any time water passes through the pipes it picks up small particles from what was collected there.

Also, water has a "galvanic reaction" when in contact with metal pipes, because of the acid in water (pH level). So you also have to worry about metal in your water. To be safe, its probably best to have a filter right at the end of the pipes too.

Usually I'd take showers at night, until this week when I partied one work night and woke up hung over/dried up.

I remembered this show I watched with these two cattle ranchers in Argentina. They drank a lot of booze but not a lot of water. The reason they didn't get dehydrated was because they swam 3 times a day or more.

So I took a quick shower before work that morning. My hangover was pretty much gone, rare for me, and I went about my normal day. I showered in the morning the rest of the week and noticed way more energy.

Also have heard alternating hot/cold water a few times helps lymph system move.

Sunscreen is a big one for me. Shade, large funny hats.. not that the sun is all bad anyways.

[edit on 22-7-2008 by urinalcakewalk]

Originally posted by ALLis0NE
We have all seen "Nicotine Patches" and those "Birth Control Patches" that rely on your skin to absorb chemicals.

Well, I believe that soap, lotions, and even just dirty water, can be absorbed in your skin and could possibly cause skin cancer, or other things.

A while back I bought a water purifier the connects to my shower head, and I swear I felt a difference on my skin. I also don't use any lotion, except for my face at times, which I want to train my skin to not need so I can eliminate possible problems.

Does anyone have any information about the chemicals your skin will and will not absorb? I believe our skin will eject the stuff it doesn't want, but I don't know if that holds true until it is already in your skin.

I read all kinds of stuff about Sunblock, and how it could possibly cause cancer, and I think it could be true.

What do you think?






[edit on 23-6-2008 by ALLis0NE]

you have to remember your skin also secretes and your body is programmed to remove all or any foriegn bodies

our bodies are amazing, so many factors fall into what can go wrong, like keeping up health, hydration, stress, depression

so many factors

yes alot of things can effect us and alot of things can help us

years of study are the only real way of finding out what can happen, but then you also get the other factors that can affect it

its like a double edged sword at times

Putting sunscreen on to prevent cancer is an oxymoron if you ask me. Especially when you consider all the chemicals inside most sunscreen lotions. And of course you have to consider the fact that if you're blocking sun rays from a vitamin D deficient society, you're gunna have a cancer prone population.

The minerals in bath salts are absorbed thorugh the skin when you bath in it. It is used in relieving muscle pains and skin care. This is also a great way of de-stressing, A lot of people are using it for these purposes.

Do you think a magnet might pull anything absorbed back out? just curious?

Yeah your skin absorbs everything even gasses in the air. The easiest way to absorb chemicals is your eyes, mouth, head (where the skin is thin) and private areas.
Makes you wonder about the people who use chemicals to tan, or remove hair.

It depends on what it is. Some things can pass through skin and cell membranes, other things can't. Semi-permeable membranes. I couldn't tell you exactly what, though.

...But it doesn't absorb "everything." Probably depends on solubility and polarity.

Originally posted by ALLis0NE
Well, I believe that soap, lotions, and even just dirty water, can be absorbed in your skin and could possibly cause skin cancer, or other things.

A while back I bought a water purifier the connects to my shower head, and I swear I felt a difference on my skin.

I read all kinds of stuff about Sunblock, and how it could possibly cause cancer, and I think it could be true.

Much of the argument regarding the usage of sunblock causing cancer, is that continually using it, makes it so you have less resistance to the Sun's rays. Long exposure to the Sun, or exposure to extreme high temperature, is what causes sunburn. Each bad sunburn you receive, eventually damages the skin, and can cause cancer. This is more prevalent in fair skinned individuals. Sun is essential for vitamin D and the absorpsion of endorphins (happiness), another reason it isn't a good idea to use it, unless you are planning to be outdoors for a long period of time, or in very hot temps, or have very fair skin. It's much better to gradually weather your skin to accept the sun's ultraviolet rays, so when you are exposed to the sun, you won't burn as easily.

Naturally the chemicals in the sunscreens can or may have adverse affects.

The skins sheds it cells continuously, so it sloughs off most of what is absorbed, depending on what was put on it. The skin (dermis) has many layers, and some people have larger pores than others. Hot water opens your pores, while cold water helps close them. Pores can only absorb so much, and this is the same for hair. People who use well water to wash their hair, may develop orangy-red spots on their scalp.

If you have naturally occuring oily skin, lotions or hair conditioners aren't always necessary. The sebaceous glands secrete oils (sebum) naturally on everybody, but at different rates, for different people. Olive skinned people tend to have more active sebaceous glands, and therefore show less signs of aging. Stimulation of the skin will activate (speed up) the sebaceous glands

Asians have higher porosity levels.

[edit on 1-8-2008 by violet]

The skin is the body's largest organ, as was stated before. It has several functions. It consists of 2 main layers: the epidermis (which is made of 4 more layers) and the corium. The outermost layer forms a protective covering for the body surfaces. It protects against injury, parasitic invasion, regulation of body temperature, aids in elimination, prevents dehydration (as best it can), is a reservoir for food and water, is a sensory organ, is a source of Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight.

There are about 17 drugs that can break through the barrier of the skin and be absorbed naturally. There are many more than can be absorbed with the addition of other chemicals (DMSO,etc.); hence the prevalence of drug therapy "patches".

Osmosis is the passage of a solvent through a semipermeable membrane separating solutions of different concentrations. The solvent, usually water, passes through the membrane from the region of lower concentration of solute to that of a higher concentration of solution, tending to equalize the concentrations of the 2 solutions. It is dependent on osmotic pressures of the solutions on the 2 sides of the membrane and the electric potential across the membrane. *

So, while it is true that the skin, via osmosis, can absorb basically anything it comes in contact with; it doesn't absorb it very far. Certainly not systemically (into the blood stream). Usually absorption does not occur even through all the layers of the skin. If it is "foreign", your body responds by kicking it out. We would have died off as a species long ago if our skin did not act as a barrier against all that we come in contact with.

On the flip side, while your body does kick out/destroy foreign substances, if you're taking them in faster than the rate your body can rid itself of them, there could be problems. All things in moderation.

Protect your skin from the sun via hats, sunglasses, long sleeves, etc. Protect it internally with adequate hydration, good nutrition, rest and hygiene. A "little" sunscreen on occasions isn't going to kill you. Every day usage may not be a good idea.

*definition of osmosis taken from Tabers Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary.*