clean: the new science of skin
The main points are that we, humans, overwash and kill off good bacteria in a pursuit of an unrealistic level "cleanliness"... and that skincare companies are producing overpriced, barely-tested products full of mystery ingredients (they don't have to disclose ingredients to FDA) with no substance behind their claims. Riverhead Books. Over the course of just a few centuries, social and personal standards for hygiene and cleanliness in much of the world have expanded from an occasional jump in the river to an essential daily shower or bath. It's not deep. I would say a solid 50% of the information is interesting, well-presented, and makes me want to revisit my skin routine. I AM THE TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THIS BOOK! How do you get clean, and how important is it…could it actually be advantageous to your skin and general health to not try to get too clean? The other change I feel will be more lasting. Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020. This book takes you on a spirited, often hilarious, sometimes alarming journey through the world of skin care: into the exploding marketplace of cleansers and serums and and probiotic skin sprays, onto the floor of a soap factory, inside the labs of leading microbiome researchers, through the alarmingly loose regulatory system for personal care products and what we're starting to learn about how our daily hygiene rituals could affect the trillions of organisms living on our skin. Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2020. The new industry bypasses traditional gatekeepers, as products can be aggressively marketed right in our Instagram feeds. But seeing how something as simple as someone rubbing things into my face could change the way I move through the entire day, the sense of frivolity vanishes. These products are not simply offering a recreational way of temporarily altering our appearance but are getting much closer to what would usually be considered drugs-implying that they are preventing or fixing a problem in the functioning of the skin. This is less about skin care than it is about hygiene in general; Hamblin tackles the history of soap and the soap industry, the beauty industry, microbiomes, public toilets, and the connections between our various bodily systems. He's kind of a fun contrarian. LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers And many people feel the profession has failed them. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. It is like a history of skincare with a scientific perspective. Sometimes that's a perfectly sufficient thing to want. Clean: The New Science of Skin - Kindle edition by Hamblin, James. Yoon applies Peach and Lily's Glass Skin Refining Serum (the bottle promises "translucent + luminous" skin as well as "peptides") and Pure Beam Luxe Oil ("replenish + rebalance" with jojoba oil) to my face, as well as a Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask containing blue agave, and a Matcha Pudding Antioxidant Cream. They are also distinct, in a regulatory sense, from drugs in that they can't claim to treat or prevent specific diseases. He's witty, funny and observant, and can even make things as divergently glamorous as the skin's microbiome and anuses interesting -- up to a point (if you can't bear anus talk, Hamblin implores you to reflect deeply on why). Its newfound popularity in the U.S. has helped make skin care a faster-growing segment of the beauty industry than makeup. YouTube influencers build personal brands based on anti-establishment solutions to skin "problems," speaking with the kind of persuasive personalities that medical school seems designed to kill off. benefit our skin health. That's it. If it can ever be said that skin is "good" or "bad"-meaning uncomfortable, dry, irritated, itchy, painful, or otherwise causing us distress-then our collective skin is getting worse. James Hamblin is a lively and accessible writer. --The New York Times Book ReviewA preventative medicine physician and staff writer for The Atlantic explains the surprising and unintended effects of our hygiene practices in this informative and entertaining introduction to the new science of skin microbes and probiotics. The very real ways that appearances inform the way people treat other people are uncomfortably palpable in those moments. Without my steroid creams on my face, my cheeks would have so bad of a flare that my skin would crack and ooze yellow pus and that pus would crack and ooze pus of pus. Once we were ignorant of microbes, then we discovered them and then we spent a century trying to eliminate them and now we have just discovered that we rely on them for our very existence! Even less natural-looking, even more disconcerting. Dr. Hamblin just walks us through the premise and development of various soaps, creams, sera and other products. This is a brief exercise for me, since I've been doing nothing. I listened to it on Audible so I’m sure I could’ve gotten more out of it if I had read a physical copy but I enjoyed it. If you weren't exposed to good microbes when you were a child, you're fucked forever. This is also partly due to growing concerns about air pollution, she hears from consumers, and about increasingly intense ultraviolet radiation from the sun as greenhouse gases dissolve the ozone layer. Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. The company's founder, Alicia Yoon, holds an MBA at Harvard Business School. Lucid, accessible, and deeply researched, Clean explores the ongoing, radical change in the way we think about our skin, introducing readers to the emerging science that will be at the forefront of health and wellness conversations in coming years. It's one of those books that a good editor would have taken a red pencil to in. i.e. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Clean: The New Science of... There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. REVOLUTIONIZED MY SKIN. I wish he'd hedged less, but I think the hedging was on purpose, as it goes to his overall point that hygine and cleanliness are a matter of balance and individualism. Desire for control and certainty also leaves people wanting preventive approaches, of the sort that the medical system has not traditionally taken seriously. That's it. I said “hm!” a lot while listening to it. Alone in the space, I turn to the questionnaire, which looks like a form you might fill out in the waiting room of a doctor's office. She is also an esthetician, perhaps best known for her work in popularizing the application of snail secretions to the skin. I am a long time skeptic of Big Soap™ and this audiobook reinforced everything I believe. $20.49. J ames Hamblin kicks off “Clean: The New Science of Skin” with a confession: He virtually stopped showering years ago. Hamblin, James. It is unlikely a coincidence that the skin care boom is happening at a time when people are losing trust in science and medicine, often for good reason. He talks to dermatologists, microbiologists, allergists, immunologists, aestheticians, bar-soap enthusiasts, venture capitalists, Amish people, theologians, and straight-up scam artists, trying to figure out what it really means to be clean. REVOLUTIONIZED MY SKIN. The "In Defense of Food" of personal hygiene. The main points are that we, humans, overwash and kill off good bacteria in a pursuit of an unrealistic level "cleanliness"... and that skincare companies are producing overpriced, barely-tested products full of mystery ingredients (they don't have to disclose ingredients to FDA) with no substance behind their claims. Oh dear. Found this book very interesting as it talked about the microbiome that covers our skin and is part of our immune system. Please try again. 'You'll never think about your largest organ the same way again' David Epstein, author of RangeIntroducing the new science of skin and a more natural approach to being clean. It's not deep. Much of what we think of as cleanliness and skincare might actually be harming it. How clean is “clean”? How clean is “clean”? When the renovation is complete, Yoon loads up a bag full of samples for me to experiment with at home. Listen: A New Definition of ‘Clean’ ... On this episode of the podcast Social Distance, the Atlantic staff writer James Hamblin talks about his new book, Clean: The New Science of Skin. benefit our skin health. My skin-I touched it-is definitely softer. Another human is taking the time and effort to rub your face, simply to make you feel and look good. And, as someone who works in public health. Unable to add item to List. This can mean doing much less, saving time, money, energy, water, and plastic bottles in the process.Lucid, accessible, and deeply researched, Clean explores the ongoing, radical change in the way we think about our skin, introducing readers to the emerging science that will be at the forefront of health and wellness conversations in coming years. Not necessarily to be better, just different. There were times the acne would extend to my eyelid as a stye that would nearly swell my eye shut. Instead i found a mix of history, research, anecdotes, and some dry humor that made for an amusing but educational read. The overall effect of such trial and error can leave patients believing they might as well take matters into their own hands. It's not a bad book, but I expected to learn more. Introducing the new science of skin and a more natural approach to being clean. According to dermatologists I've spoken with, some forms of the acid can sometimes penetrate into the skin, but only the ones that have smaller molecular weights. This is a pop science survey book on the subject of skin health plus a few other subjects the author has chosen to throw in, like the benefits of city parks to urban dwellers and public health issues which I think detracts from main subject of skin health. We’d love your help. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. This effect is also drawn out in other moments of dramatic physical change like getting really dressed up or getting a wildly different haircut. Dermatologists, like many other doctors, are typically scarce and expensive. Clean: The New Science of Skin. What could go wrong? But our understanding of what skin is and how it works is changing. ISBN. his book came out at an unfortunate time? He's also not particularly draconian about anything (and his humor is great!). his metaphor about the house party and inviting in all the microbes? But one thing is certain: Acceptance will mean overcoming hundreds of years of societal messaging about what it means to be “clean… There are no discussion topics on this book yet. What cleansers? Systemic treatments are rarely less fickle. (i didn't read every one but...) what with the constant reminders to hand wash? To sum it up: use soap; not too much; mostly hands. 0525538313. The Beauty Geek's Guide to Skin Care: 1,000 Essential Definitions of Common Product... Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, The Grand Biocentric Design: How Life Creates Reality, Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, If Our Bodies Could Talk: Operating and Maintaining a Human Body, The Skincare Bible: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Great Skin, The Beauty Geek's Guide to Skin Care: 1,000 Essential Definitions of Common Product Ingredients. Previous page of related Sponsored Products. Most soap & skin care is a scam. Please try again. She touches my cheek lightly with her fingertip, then a little more firmly. "I grew up trying everything under the sun, even bleach baths," she tells me, referring to the dubious practice intended to kill any and all microbes on one's skin. The herringbone wood floors are decorated with floral bouquets as tall as any human. I walk off the elevator into a palatial, sun-soaked office looming seven stories over Bryant Park in Manhattan. Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at: Intriguing read! Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The new goal of skin care will be to cultivate a healthy biome—and to embrace the meaning of “clean” in the natural sense. And, as someone who works in public health, I really appreciate his emphasis on taking care of your insides in order to have nicer outsides. It's basically a series of short vignettes, sort of a tour of all the current issues in skin care. As the Earth loses this protective shell, people are compelled to apply their own. The prose is very readable, accessible and covers some interesting areas of your skin and the microbiome. I wish that he would have been a little bit more focused on skin care specifically, but as it is, Hamblin doesn't purport to tell you what to do; this isn't a how-to manual for minimalist skin care. Instead, Hamblin does a great job of thoroughly investigating the history and current trends in skincare in a pretty non-judgemental way. has been added to your Cart. "I don't know-I mean, you tell me.". What moisturizers? Here, everyone is an expert. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Sadly, this book is a lightweight. Oh, and that overuse of skincare products is doing more harm than good. In retrospect, it did read a bit like a series of magazines articles strung together. A bed draped in white linens awaits under a chandelier. "It should probably be fine, I've just never done this on anyone . In a nutshell: if your skin is not in a good state, try to put less stuff in it / wash it less, and let the microbiome do it's thing. The product isn’t “killing 99.9% of germs” in the way that anyone actually uses it—a quick wipe-down. The journey he takes to discover what our skin really needs will surprise you & save you tons of money in the long run. Some interesting information on marketing of the beauty products... such as the profit-driven benefits of th. I explain that I've come to have a facial. But sellers can market these products with claims about improving and maintaining health-without all the bureaucratic burden of getting a drug approved to be sold on the market. What serums? Lying on the crisp linens at Peach and Lily, above the noise and impersonality of the city streets below, I'm not thinking about marketing or my teenage angst-or much at all. Finding a routine of gentle, moisturizing products was part of what she has called her "skin-care breakthrough moment," and the approach she now shares with her clients. If there are big breakthroughs in skin and cleanliness science in the next five or ten years, this is exactly the writer to explain them to us. July 21st 2020 ", "Yes! Cosmetics are not food, legally. Clean : The New Science of Skin and the Beauty of Doing Less. If you weren't exposed to good microbes when you were a child, you're fucked forever. Both for the environmental impact and the impact on our body. I wish that he would have been a little bit more focused on skin care specifically, but as it is, Hamblin doesn't purport to tell you what to do; this isn't a how-to manual for minimalist skin care. Oral contraceptives are sometimes prescribed in an attempt to even out an alleged hormonal imbalance. I begin to feel negligent. Jul 15, 2020 - Free download Clean: The New Science of Skin (0525538313) by (Relié) He's kind of a fun contrarian. In fact I had tried that, along with most anything else, to attempt to even out the very weird palette of my face. Clean: The New Science of Skin (Book) Book Details. There is a question about allergies and diet, along with a battery of questions about my skin: What exfoliants do I use?