You must have seen news flashes like “your skin absorbs 60% of what you put on it,” and “anything you put on your skin is absorbed into your bloodstream within 26 seconds” circulating the net. But are these claims true? These two particular statements have so many variables to it that they cannot be taken as conclusive statements in any real context.

So while they might be true in some cases, for some chemicals, the phrasing of these news flashes does the better job of sensationalizing it as they attract curious readers like yourself to read it and take whatever action they want you to (buying products for instance).

While your skin does not physically breathe (like what your respiratory system does), unlike amphibians and earthworms, it can absorb molecules that are small enough to pass through its topmost layers. Molecules such as certain hormones, vitamins, even oils. You have examples of delivery of hormones through the skin like your birth control patches, nicotine patches. Breaking the topmost layers of skin either by accidental injury or deliberately puncturing the skin (in the case of micro-needling/ micro injections), would enable more effective delivery of substances whatever they may be, into your bloodstream.

Largely, our skin is hardy as it is meant to protect us from toxins in the environment, regulate our temperature and is part of our sensory reception but you must have witnessed first-hand how easily your skin can break due to cuts/ abrasions. If there is something that is both fragile and yet strong at the same time, it would be the human skin.

Many people are convinced that our skin needs to "breathe". I am sure on some days when you have a grease pan for a face or when you have not done a facial treatment in the longest time or when you have a full face of makeup, you would feel that your skin is congested and unable to breathe.  However, what you are concerned with would be the congestion of your pores and very little to do with oxygen or breathing for that matter.

Verbal diarrhea aside, here is something to reward you for having read the whole article:

1)    Always cleanse your face properly. Refer to our Instagram post about how to wash your face properly. Leave the cleanser on and smoothing it over the entire face for at least the amount of time it takes you to sing happy birthday to your kid. Not your enemy so you have to sing it at an appropriate speed.

2)    Use non-comedogenic products.

3)    Go for a facial at least once a month

4)    Check the ingredients of the things that come into contact with your face. Google every single one of them or run them through trusty websites like https://incidecoder.com/ or https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/.

Especially for the pregnant women out there, If it gets into your bloodstream, it could get to your baby too!