First, the bad news. You don’t need to inhale polluted air for it to harm you, because up to 60% of topically-applied substances are absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream and body tissue. Most of the noxious particles in the air are ‘nano-particles’, which easily penetrate skin barriers, where they go on to merrily produce free radicals which result in inflammation, dehydration and premature ageing.
The good news is that your skin is nature’s badass filter, and it traps some of these environmental aggressors in the epidermis (the outermost layer), which will eventually shed off.
Here’s where your lifestyle comes in. Over-exposure to stressors like the sun, polluted air and water and toxic chemicals in your products, in addition to intrinsic factors like stress, poor diet, dehydration, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption weakens this skin’s barrier. You become more susceptible to environmental damage and exposure to these nano-particles which eventually burn holes in the dermis (the deeper layer of the skin).
Dermatologist Rajat Kandhari has some pressing ideas on how to avoid doomsday.
Prevent skin damage
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