As I walked my grandson from school to my home, we started on the topic of skincare and why it is so important to take care of it. I was a proud grandma when I heard him tell me that the skin, he is 9, is the largest organ and that one of its functions was to protect the body. Our education system is doing its thing!! And as we talked more, I was able to learn that he had a pretty good grasp on why we need to take care of our skin. Of course, the question was asked,
‘You use lotion, right?’
And the look this child gave me…my heart dropped! So I put on my business hat and explained to him why we need to take care of our skin and why lotions were important to making sure our skin stayed healthy. Explain how the skin, under a really powerful microscope, can look sort of like scales and that healthy skin has those “scales” laying down flat. My grandson surprised me again with his eyes opening wide cause he KNEW this and he started down with his OWN explanation and why those “scales” need to be laying down and protecting the body. **Proud grandma moment there** And I could then explain how I started because of how one of his Aunt’s was so sensitive when she was a baby and that is what started me on this journey. He didn’t quite know the story so he was fascinated to hear it. And so our discussion about skin care and why he needs to use lotions and how making sure keeping the good bacteria on the skin was important and how those same bacteria protect us from getting some serious sicknesses, so protection through moisturization is so important.
And then I realized, how many of us take the time to talk to our babies about proper skin care and WHY it is important for proper skin care? And proper skin care doesn’t have to be the latest new nano-something or the other, the latest hype ingredient or the like. But simple, clean, easy skin care. Wash your skin to remove dirt. Remember to moisturize after you cleanse your skin to keep it glowing and healthy. Don’t pick at your skin, especially as people of color because marks and hyperpigmentation is a thing. And overall, just LOVING the skin that you are in and knowing that in time, everything does find a way to work its self out.
So have those talks with your babies, and grand babies if you have them, and teach them, boys and girls, about the importance of taking care of your skin. It is the ONLY skin you will ever have in your life.