You’re conscious about your health. You’re working on your fitness and your nutrition. You follow the latest news on cardiac health, stroke prevention, and cancer screenings. But there may be one organ of your body that you don’t think about all that much.
Your skin.
Your skin is the largest organ of your body. Your skin covers about 22 square feet. It’s 15% of your overall body weight. It helps regulate your body temperature and acts as a barrier between your internal systems and all the bacterial and viral agents you come into contact with every day. Your skin is also a miraculous sensory organ, allowing you to enjoy the feel of your cat’s soft fur under your fingertips and reminding you of the sharp thorns found among the flowers of your favorite rose bush.
More attention has been paid in recent years to the importance of protecting your skin from overexposure to the sun, and more people are on the lookout for early signs of skin cancer. That’s a great thing.
And it’s not the only thing when it comes to keeping your skin healthy.
Check out the latest research and information on caring for this unique organ.
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 37:6
🛡️ A Strong Skin Barrier Means a Stronger You
What is your skin barrier? Simply put, it’s your skin. And it’s also the way your skin protects your internal systems from the external environment. When your skin becomes overly dry, or if you have inflammation or itching on your skin, it means your skin barrier has been compromised. And that means your skin can’t do as good a job as it was designed to do.
So how can you help your skin keep up the right defenses?
While you might be tempted to scrub away dry skin or itchy patches, gentle care of your skin is the best approach. Avoid toxins and irritants. Use soap products that aren’t composed of harsh chemicals. Use lotions with ceramides. Ceramides are a type of fat that the skin loves. Ceramides are able to hold moisture in the skin while keeping irritants and other agents out. And here’s more good news; experts say that gentle soaps and moisturizers with ceramides don’t have to be expensive, designer kinds of concoctions. Dr. Jordan Lim, dermatology professor at Emory University, says, “Price does not equal efficacy. A lot of the ingredients you’re seeing in a $6 cream are also in $300 creams.” 1
📋 Keep It Simple
If you’re on popular social media platforms today, you’ve likely run across a ‘Get Ready with Me’ video, in which a social media influencer takes you through their morning or evening routine. And often a big part of that routine is a multi-step, complicated skin care regime that has you trying to figure out when you would fit that kind of routine into your already packed schedule. A professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Kathleen Suozzi advises, “Social media is having such a huge influence on what we’re using in our skin and every individual is acting like their own clinician and trying to diagnose their own skin type and experiment with different regimens. And really the main overarching thing is that skincare regimens have become way overcomplicated.” 2 A gentle cleanser and a moisturizer may be all you need to keep your skin in tip-top shape.
🤸 And Don’t Forget the Rest of Your Skin
Our conversations around skin care most often focus on the face and on antiaging routines. But your skin covers more than just your face. And skin care is more than just from the outside in. New advances in nutraceuticals, supplements that are nutrients to the skin, are showing great promise in helping keep skin healthier from the inside out. Supplements like Omega-3s, carotenoids, polyphenols, collagen, vitamins A, and E, and minerals like selenium and zinc may help with certain skin disorders and with aging. 3
🚨 An Early Warning System
Your skin can also serve as an early warning system for other health issues. If your skin seems to take on a yellowish cast, it could be evidence of a liver issue. If you are dealing with rashes, you may have an allergy issue. If you seem to be bruising easily, this too can be something to talk about with your healthcare provider. Paying attention to what your skin is telling you can go a long way in identifying underlying problems.
😎 As Always, Put on That Sunscreen
Yes, a little vitamin D does a body good and one of the best sources of it is sunshine. But overexposure to the sun, particularly during times of day when UV rays are at their highest, does more damage than good. Aim to get a little unfiltered sunshine early in the morning, for ten minutes or so, and then it’s time to cover up. Consistent skin checks with your medical provider are also important for keeping your skin healthy.
Your skin can be healthy and beautiful, no matter your age. And you can help your skin to its primary job with good nutrition and supplements, simple routines, and by protecting it well. Your skin is the clothing your whole system wears for all your life; treating it well will help it treat you well!
If you’re an Altrua HealthShare Member on certain memberships, you have pooled office visits built right into your membership. Consider using one of those visits to make sure your skin is healthy. If you’re not yet an Altrua HealthShare Member or if you have questions about your membership, contact Member Services at 1-888-244-3839. And check this out; if you join Altrua HealthShare between now and January 31st, you can get one month of membership for free! Check out more details here.
1 https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2025-09-15/you-dont-need-trendy-expensive-products-like-snail-mucin-or-beef-tallow-to-care-for-your-skin
2 https://apnews.com/article/skin-care-retinol-red-light-therapy-beef-tallow-16ce2a56462995c41054fdf147814d7e
3 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5946188/