Skin and Pollution
The skin, an organ of contact and protection, is also the organ that is most directly subjected to environmental pollution. Nowadays wherever you live, even in the countryside, you cannot escape the harmful effects of atmospheric pollutants.
Different Types of Pollutants
Carbon monoxide: this pollutant is a gas that comes from automotive exhaust fumes, industrial emissions, the elimination of household waste and cigarette smoke.
Lead: this pollutant, which comes from automotive exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke and the burning of home heating fuel, is an airborne particle measuring 0.1 to 5 across.
Other pollutants: iron, chlorine, nicotine, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, which plays a beneficial role at high elevations by absorbing the UV rays that are the most hazardous for the skin, but turns into an atmospheric pollutant at low altitudes, causing oxidizing reactions and serious respiratory problems.
The Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on the Skin
These atmospheric pollutants have a toxic effect on the skin. They penetrate the natural cutaneous environment (sebum, make-up and waste) and create an opening where toxins and free radicals can enter and block all the skin’s natural defence and detoxification mechanisms (cellular respiration), resulting in what could only be called asphyxiation.
The immediate consequences are:
- accelerated ageing
- dehydrated, dry, dull skin
- irritated and itchy
- dilated pores
- acne
- allergies
