Skin is Amazing, and Pores are like Mini Mouths.

Give your skin a nice pat on the back. It is helpful. It is like the bark of a tree. It protects us from all kinds of things. Do you respect your skin? I do. It is very precious to me.

Okay, so this weird thought came to me a couple days ago. You ever hear that saying, "Don't apply anything to your skin that you wouldn't put in your mouth." Well yeah, I totally believe that. Pores are like mini mouths...

I know it is a weird way of thinking, but I thought it was pretty cool to think of pores in that way.

Pores also remove impurities from the skin and help us breathe; man, they are helpful little buggers.

Just felt like sharing.

There are a lot of things I would put on my skin, but not in my mouth.

What about raw meat? You can't get e-coli from touching something, it has go get into your mouth! Or maybe even your eyes... I'm not sure how that works. But I know just handing it wont get ya sick!

reply to post by James1982


Oh yeah dude totally. Dude. yes.

I was kind of going for the idea of like lotions and deodorants and sunscreens and such. Things that you apply to the skin.

But good point.

I was just looking at soaps and such in the drug store a little while ago and thinking how it's kind of scary what we put in those things. And all the myriad of claims about being good for our skin, almost all far from true. It's kind of sad, how easily people are manipulated by simply marketing tactics into putting harmful things in or on their bodies.
We should all pay more attention

--Kit.

Ugh. Just saying "skin" and "pores" made me shiver. I like myself but I don't think some things should be talked about in our bodies. Such as private parts, dirty names for our privates, feet, pores, smells, yuck!


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reply to post by ag893


Wow that's so closed minded, and sad. That attitude is one of the biggest problems with western society. You can't love or respect yourself if you think your own body is too "icky" to even talk about. We teach our children to live in shame of themselves and their bodies, and then we wonder why they all grow up with self esteem issues, depression and eating disorders.
Something a lot of people need to learn, the human body is beautiful. There's nothing dirty or shameful about it. There's nothing wrong with talking about it. It's something you should be proud of, love and care for. Not something you should hide and be ashamed of. You can't take care of yourself if you feel like you have to hide from your own body.

--Kit.

reply to post by James1982


humans can actually eat raw meat in its pure form. the problem is eating meat that comes from a meat grinder.

Reply to post by Kitsunegari

That's not western society. That's just the way it is in my culture. I was born in America but I was raised into a Haitian christian family. In our culture, talking about sex, private parts, and other things are deemed highly inappropriate. That kind of talk is only done when around close friends and after a few drinks or with your husband/wife. We are not third world living like all the documentaries have on Haiti. A lot of families in Haiti and America are extremely conservative and very nice. You'd be suprised if you come to Florida or go visit the upperclass parts of Haiti.

You've got it all wrong if you think America is too conservative. Everyone one of my friends is extremely laid back and liberal in their views of basically everything. All of my friends have smoked or drink or had sex with random ppl with no qualms about it. They cuss A LOT. So I would definitely say you got it wrong. That's just me and how I grew up.


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Originally posted by freedish
reply to post by James1982

 

humans can actually eat raw meat in its pure form. the problem is eating meat that comes from a meat grinder.

One of my favorite meals is actually a bowl of raw hamburger.

No just messing around

I have had some raw beef in a Japanese restaurant before.. not sure what it was called, but it was good!

I'd have to agree with all the odd chemicals people put on their skin though. I find that odd. Why is it that chemicals can get through our skin but not viruses and bacteria? Are viruses and bacteria just larger than the molecules of the chemicals or what?

reply to post by ag893


I haven't gotten anything wrong, but I did not phrase it accurately. It's Christian society, because what I'm referring to is absolutely a big thing that Christian values enforce. I'm not really speaking of social liberal/conservatism on the whole, I'm only referring to attitudes about the body and sexuality, which are still extremely repressed in western (i.e largely Christian) society. These attitudes have little bearing on individual people's sexual practices, I didn't mean to imply that people are prudish. But they are taught to be ashamed, and it is still something that people generally feel the need to be secretive about. And I'll add that it's surprising how liberal individual people will be, given how restricted collective practices and ideas are. Society is forcing over-conservative constructs on people, but individuals are often more liberal, which I think is often a reaction to the restrictiveness. Especially in America, this is not as true of Europe. I can see how it would be more extreme in your culture, Haiti is a much more Christianized culture than America. But the same is still true of both, generally speaking. Maybe America is a liberal place from your perspective, but your perspective seems to be that of rather extreme conservatism.

--Kit.

reply to post by James1982


Chemicals really aren't absorbed through the skin either, if I'm not mistaken. Not much of anything actually is, but things get into the skin itself and damage it. So you don't generally have to worry about poisoning yourself through the skin, but you can still damage your skin so I think it's worthwhile to be mindful of what you put on it just to take better care of yourself.

--Kit.

Reply to post by Kitsunegari

I guess. I definitely see how you would come to that conclusion. And its probably true. But that's just me. I could have easily had my ethics changed being around and raised around American culture. But those are just values I uphold myself. Those are just things that I deem are innapropriate. I have a little phobia of feet and saying certain words and I avoid talking about anything having to do with mouths. It seems these discussions always lead back to sex. Which I try to avoid. Close minded? Mmm...I guess so.


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reply to post by ag893


I do find it closed-minded, but maybe it's closed-minded of me to evaluate your cultural beliefs that way. I'm just frustrated by the pervasiveness of that kind of attitude because it really can and does cause a lot of self esteem and body image problems in kids. Your values are your own though, I don't mean to disrespect that. You brought a different perspective to the thread Thanks for sharing and explaining to me.

--Kit.

Originally posted by SolarE-Souljah
Give your skin a nice pat on the back. It is helpful. It is like the bark of a tree. It protects us from all kinds of things. Do you respect your skin? I do. It is very precious to me.

Okay, so this weird thought came to me a couple days ago. You ever hear that saying, "Don't apply anything to your skin that you wouldn't put in your mouth." Well yeah, I totally believe that. Pores are like mini mouths...

I know it is a weird way of thinking, but I thought it was pretty cool to think of pores in that way.

Pores also remove impurities from the skin and help us breathe; man, they are helpful little buggers.

Just felt like sharing.

Finally a thread worth a good pat on the back! (no pun intended)
I read it and thought to myself, "Yep. We take for granted everything we have."

The most incredible thing about our skin is its ability to lock out things at any time.
For instance, water.
Your skin is a great barrier of protection.
An incredible plethora of layered cells and organisms.

Great, non doom-and-gloom thread!

Thanks!

olive oil. I eat it..I use it in my hair and I use it on my skin. I do not regret it as I essentially have not aged visibly in well over a decade. Raw shea butter is also great. I get it from he Indo-Pak market for under 10 bucks for a huge tub. chip some off...microwave it for a few seconds and you are good to go. Again..can be used for skin and hair and is non toxic if you eat it.

Originally posted by Kitsunegari
reply to post by James1982

 

Chemicals really aren't absorbed through the skin either, if I'm not mistaken. Not much of anything actually is, but things get into the skin itself and damage it. So you don't generally have to worry about poisoning yourself through the skin, but you can still damage your skin so I think it's worthwhile to be mindful of what you put on it just to take better care of yourself.

--Kit.

That's not quite right. Patches work for a reason (for example nicotine patches).


But of course not all chemicals are absorbed.

reply to post by polarwarrior


Okay, good point.
Of course I was speaking generally, but it's very difficult for things to pass that barrier of oil on the skin. So some chemicals, and things like vitamin E oil can be absorbed. But most things in lotions and skin products (strange vitamins, antioxidants [wtf?] etc.) are not actually absorbed and as such have little effect on the body besides sitting on the skin. Same with hair products. I'm mostly stabbing at things that advertise components that might be beneficial if you took them in a pill, but aren't going to have much effect on your skin or hair because all they'll do is sit on top.
At least, that's what I've learned.

--Kit.

Originally posted by polarwarrior

That's not quite right. Patches work for a reason (for example nicotine patches).

That's really the only thing I knew of that was absorbed through the skin, Nicotine patches, Fentanyl patches, etc. I also heard that you could absorb iodine through the skin too, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.

Is it just that the molecules are smaller and able to pass through your skin, or is there some other reason that the skin lets some things through and not others? I've always been curious!

reply to post by James1982

Is it just that the molecules are smaller and able to pass through your skin, or is there some other reason that the skin lets some things through and not others? I've always been curious!

The rate of dermal absorption of a substance is proportional to both the concentration of the substance and the surface area over which it is applied. The wider the contact area and the more concentrated the substance, the greater will be the absorption.

The thickness of the skin, especially the stratum corneum, also determines the degree to which substances are absorbed. Thicker skin is a greater barrier to passage of foreign substances. Depending on skin thickness, there can also be variability in absorption of a given substance by different regions of the body. For example, hydrocortisone is absorbed over 50-times greater by genital skin versus the skin of the palms.18

Damage to skin, both through disease or direct environmental influence, can also alter the barrier properties of skin and enhance absorption of substances. Even something as innocuous as the removal of outer layers of skin with cellophane tape can apparently dramatically increase dermal absorption.19

Occlusion of the area of skin in contact with a substance also serves to enhance absorption. This phenomenon explains why dressings are placed over topically applied medications in clinical practice. Occlusion serves to increase hydration and temperature of skin and can also enhance injury to skin from hazardous substances, thereby increasing absorption secondarily as noted above. For this reason, it is recommended that if insect repellants are used on children they only be applied to naked skin or to clothing, but never to skin that will be covered by clothing.

Vehicle composition will also determine the absorption of an agent. Lipids and lipid-soluble substances absorb more readily. Agents that have lower solubility with the vehicle will absorb more easily into skin. “In general, chemicals that travel quickly through the skin have low molecular weights, no electrostatic charge and easily dissolve in fat.”20 Finally, if the vehicle’s properties are such that it damages skin, this may secondarily increase dermal absorption as well.

Dermal absorption is also a route of exposure to contaminants that are found in soil, air and water. For example, exposure may occur via bathing, showering or immersion in contaminated natural swimming water and, therefore, through direct skin absorption. There has been considerable study concerning the exposure in bath, shower and chlorinated pool water to chlorine disinfection by-products. Inhalation and dermal absorption are the two most likely routes of exposure to certain of these substances.21 Trihalomethanes represent one class of these agents that have been linked to increased risk for spontaneous abortion and for developing bladder and colon cancer.

Health Canada researchers estimated that skin exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) via Great Lakes water sediment might in some extreme circumstances be equally important to the oral exposure route. They conclude that there is the potential for toxicologically significant absorption of contaminants found in water if skin has prolonged exposure and particularly if it has sunburn damage.22 Such a conclusion has important implications for children’s exposures since they are likely to spend more time in swimming water, will absorb more relative to their body weight and are reliant on adults to ensure adequate protection against sun damage that would compromise the barrier property of their skin.

Recreational water contaminated with high levels of E.coli and other fecal coliform bacteria can produce skin rashes and eye, ear or throat irritation from direct contact.23 Such health effects have been taken into consideration in the development of recreational water quality guidelines. If a beach or body of water is determined to have unacceptably high levels of microorganisms, the local medical officer of health has the authority to post warnings to the public of the probable health risks.

www.cape.ca...

Originally posted by James1982

Originally posted by freedish
reply to post by James1982

 

humans can actually eat raw meat in its pure form. the problem is eating meat that comes from a meat grinder.

I'd have to agree with all the odd chemicals people put on their skin though. I find that odd. Why is it that chemicals can get through our skin but not viruses and bacteria? Are viruses and bacteria just larger than the molecules of the chemicals or what?

Good point I never thought of that. Maybe it has something to do with Osmosis or that a Virus can't get through the body's first line of defense. The epidermis...think how far a virus would have to travel to even get through 1/100 of an inch of skin. I'd be like running from Main to Florida.