Introduction

Skin is the largest organ of the body and the most visible one. Its functionality is complex and plural; skin protects the body from daily external impacts, maintains homeostasis, generates sensory impulses (touch, pain, hot, cold) and the most important in today’s world is it aids in communication and display, saying so it is like our visiting card for the outside world.Thus skin is an organ with a range of functions that supports survival and must be taken care in a similar way as we take care of our other vital organs.
Skin; The basics
Before we go into skin care let us know some physiology related to skin. The skin has a surface area of around 2 m2 and weights 1/6th of the total body weight of an adult. It consists of three layers; the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous layer. Each layer has its own specific task.

• Epidermis: It is the outermost layer of skin i.e. visible and is composed of a layer of dead cells. It functions to provide waterproofing, friction reduction, prevents moisture loss and creates barriers protecting the lower layer of skin. The epidermis also produces melanin, which provides protection against U.V. radiation of the sun.

• Dermis: This layer provides strength and elasticity. It consists of hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, sensory cells/nerves, lymph vessels, blood vessels and a whole variety of cells. It consists of a protein called collagen, which is widely used for the treatment of skin problems such as wrinkles, scars etc. Skin message that we do help activate this layer and enhance blood circulation and soothe the nerve cells in the skin. This layer is responsible for producing vitamin D on exposure to sunlight.

• Subcutaneous layer: It is the innermost layer and a thick lipid layer which acts as an insulator from heat and cold, provides energy storage and cushioning against pressure.

Skin Care:
The layers of skin function in such a way that it can both protect and heal on its own. However, skin is exposed to a lot of external stimuli such as stress and dangerous materials from daily grooming products to pollutants in the air, water, food etc. Thus strong impact of these is strongly felt and the natural defence mechanism of skin is gradually deteriorated with every exposure. Hence, relying on natural defence is not sufficient.

Now different questions and confusions may arise regarding skin care. Further, all the commercials and advertisements relating to skin care products has made thing more complicated. Unfortunately, there is no quick-fix for getting and keeping, beautiful bright and radiant skin. However, the good news is that the work is not hard and just requires sticking to some basic rules on daily basis. The other thing is patience because things won’t happen all of a sudden, but results start to show up in a progressive way until one day you will have no complaints regarding your skin. Someone quoted “Your skin has a memory. In ten, twenty, thirty years from now, your skin will show the results of how it was treated today. So treat it kindly and with respect.” To sum up in one sentence “GREAT SKIN IS A COMMITMENT OBTAINED THROUGH CONSISTENCY.”

Some basic simple steps to be followed on daily basis for effective skin care include:

1. Cleansing: It is common to everyone and is an important part of good skin care. Cleansers and soap are used for this purpose. They help to remove the makeup/leftovers, grim, excess oil and pollution picked up from the environment.Unfortunately, there are harmful effects of cleansers, thus consideration on the type of cleanser to be used is required. Further while considering cleansing never settle on wipes, wipes contain un-skin friendly ingredients to keep them wet and prolong their shelf-life. Although water based ones are available, but water is not sufficient to properly cleanse your skin. The other point to be noted is considering scrubs for cleansing does not sound brilliant. Skin is a breathing, living, working organ and it performs excretion too through pores and follicles. Thus why to scrub a self-cleansing surface? If we carry out daily cleansing scrubbing is not required.

2. Moisturizing: Moisturizers prevent dry skin from getting cracked, thick and flaky. They help to;
• Replenish the skin’s natural ingredients that help maintain its structure.
• Cut down damage from free radicle.
• Help the cell function more normally.
Moisturizers are oil and water based emulsions and a variety of them are available. Thus picking the right one based on skin type is necessary.

3. Sunscreens: The most forgotten step in daily skin care is using sunscreens, but its outcomes are slow and most damaging. A dirty and dry skin can be easily identified but, damage to the skin from U.V. radiation is beneath the surface and is a slow process such that we don’t realize how much damage is being done. Thus the use of sunscreen is very important but the selection of the one required depends on several factors such as:
• How sunscreens work
• Everyday sunscreen vs out-in-the-sun sunscreen
• Using a sunscreen alone vs sunscreen plus moisturizer
• Understanding the UV index
• How to be safe in the sun.
4. Hydration: Hydration is one of the most important factors for the health and appearance of skin. As skin carries out multiple functions at a time and majority of the processes require water. The water required can only be made available by internal consumption. So drinking enough water at least 7-9 glasses per day is required to have a healthy skin.

5. Picking / squeezing spot/blackheads: Never put your nails on your skin say our elders because when we pick /squeeze these spot/ blackheads, we disturb the healing process, prolonging the life of blemish. Further, we drive bacteria deeper down depending on the infection, worsening it. We also spread the infection to other parts of the face and body. We create an open wound, vulnerable to infection from the environment.

6. Rest: Similar to hydration, body needs rest to get off the day-day stress and carry-out its necessary function. Thus a good sleep for at least 7 hrs per night is required for a healthy body and skin.

7. Moderate beverages and carbohydrate intake: Intake of alcohol, caffeine, dairy products and sugar needs to be effectively checked for a healthy skin because;
• Alcohol and caffeine cause dehydration by the diuretic effect.
• Dairy thickens the mucous membrane and secretions leading to blockage thus may create a problem to those with acne.
• Sugar ages the skin and processed one is the worst.

8. Above all stick to your routine and remember “GREAT SKIN IS A COMMITMENT OBTAINED THROUGH CONSISTENCY.”