Introducing … skin! The incredibly durable outermost layer of the human body. Akin to the turtle’s shell or an armadillo’s plate, this essential overcoat forms a protective seal that insulates delicate structures from the environment and shields us from physical injury, temperature changes, solar radiation, harmful chemicals, and dangerous microorganisms. Yet skin functions not only to protect; it also serves to beautify. Skin is an inescapable source of our self-consciousness, attractiveness, and vanity. We often look at, touch, and caress our own skin and that of others. For those enmeshed in a superficial, glittering, image-conscious society, beauty does indeed become but skin deep. Skin mirrors and shapes our very emotions: it blushes, radiates, glistens, and sweats. Skin conveys and transmits supreme pleasure and agonizing pain. We are bound by our skin, physically and, in many ways, psychologically.

The stamina of this remarkable tissue is incredible. During much of our existence we unknowingly torment our skin. The body is washed daily with any number of chemicals and then coated with a slew of substances ranging from mass-produced cosmetics to synthetic antiperspirants. In the winter we rush from heated, humidity-depleted buildings into sub-zero temperatures. In the summer we gleefully roast under the suns heat and penetrating rays. We dive into chlorinated pools and frolic in salt-laden oceans.

Just how enduring is skin? If one were to take the unpainted sheet-metal frame of an automobile and expose it to the same environment that confronts our body, within weeks one would be left with a rusted, rotting piece of junk. Yet skin lasts a lifetime!

The key to skin’s durability is its amazing regenerative power. Skin is composed of billions of living cells. As soon as one of these cells becomes injured or dies, a new one rushes to take its place. Such is the natural process of healing, and because of this biological phenomenon, any damage to our outer shell is usually temporary.

I invite you to explore the Health911 Skin Care web site which balances medical therapies, compiled by myself, with traditional, herbal and botanical modalities making for a most unique experience.