The Acid Mantle

The skin is quite an amazing organ.  It has a natural layer on the epidermis called the “acid mantle”.  This organically, acidic, built-in layer on the skin helps to fight off bacteria, fungus and other contaminants from penetrating farther into the skin, protecting the body from harmful outside predators. 

As we age the acid mantle increases the pH on the skin.  People age 60 and over have a pH of 6.0+ depending on the depletion of their skin cells being able to turnover and produce more skin cells.  As the pH increases, the immunity the skin has to certain bacteria becomes suppressed and illnesses and viruses can arise because of this.

Beyond the acid mantle having an acidic pH of 4.5-5.5 naturally, what else is this thin layer on the epidermis comprised of?  It also contains lipids, fatty acids, lactic acid, amino acids and skin’s own natural moisturizing factor.  When any of these other constituents are altered, it leaves the skin susceptible to unwelcome bacteria, fungus and viruses.

To keep your acid mantle from changing, use products that are close to its pH.  This will enable a warm welcome allowing the skin to continue doing its job with continuity.

What’s Within a Kiss

“It’s just a kiss.”  How many times have those words been uttered?  To, Ingrid Bergman, a Swedish actress in the mid 1900’s, “A kiss is a secret told to the mouth instead of the ear; kisses are the messengers of love and tenderness”.

What’s within a kiss that creates so many feelings?  Why is it more than, “just a kiss”?  The tissue on the lips is the same tissue that comprises the genitalia and the nipples.  These three areas are interconnected to each other.  When the lips are kissed it heats up the body and sends signals throughout it heating up the erogenous zones.  The heating up of the erogenous zones creates a desire to allow the body to experience what the lips are feeling.

Men’s Health Magazine did a survey for both men and women.  In this survey, they asked the participant to rank 10 areas on their body on a scale of 1-10 that were most arousing.  Notice on the survey, a kiss for both male and female ranked number two on the survey, being outranked by the their genitalia which came in as number one.  The prelude of a kiss it what begins, in most cases, a sensory inflation within the body.   It is that particular tissue of the skin that creates the impulses to desire more.  It is the kiss that sustains the passion during sex and it is the kiss that concludes the act.

A kiss is 100 times more sensitive than your fingertips.

A kiss is 100 times more sensitive than your fingertips.  There is a reason for that.  A kiss is to be savored, to be reserved, to be longed for from someone deserving of its soft touch.  God was smart when he created the different skin cells for each area of the body.  It is this masterful design that creates yearning for one another.  The touch of a kiss is the peacemaker of relationships.

Hawaii is First in the World to Ban Certain Sunscreens

Planning on visiting Hawaii and spending time on the beach?  Make sure you have the right sunscreen packed in your beach bag.  Scientists have discovered that certain sunscreens are harming the coral reefs because of these two specific ingredients: octinoxate (octyl methoxycinnamate) and oxybenzone which are found in 70 percent of the sunscreens on the market.  Octinoxate has been shown to contribute to the bleaching of the coral reefs and oxybenzone exposure leads to the death of baby coral.

The coral reef is one of Hawaii’s largest attractions and Governor David Ige decided it was time to prevent more damage to the coral reefs by signing a ban on sunscreens containing octinoxate and oxybenzone.  The ban is the first in the world on selling sunscreens containing those two ingredients.  Although the ban does not go into effect until 2021, stores in Hawaii are pulling those sunscreens off the shelf and replacing them with sunscreens that contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

Manufacturers of sunscreen containing octinoxate and oxybenzone that are on Hawaii’s ban list are not happy about the ban.  They are fighting back, claiming that without sunscreen, people will be susceptible to skin cancer which can develop with high amounts of unprotected sun exposure.  Hawaii wants its residents and tourists to wear sunscreen, just the right kind of sunscreen that won’t cause harm to their coral reefs.