I first started making goat milk soap because I didn’t want to use chemicals on my children’s skin.

Why was that important to me?

Avoiding chemicals on their skin was important, because I knew that the skin is the human body’s largest organ and healthy skin is essential to keeping my children healthy.  So I learned to make a natural soap devoid of unhealthy chemicals.

In case you’ve never thought much about your skin, here are five actions that your skin constantly performs.

1. Your Skin Protects. Obviously, your skin is the outermost covering of your body.  It is your body’s first line of defense from not just physical injury but also from pathogens that try to invade the body and make you sick.

2. Your Skin Regulates. It is important that your body maintains a relatively constant temperature.  When you are hot, your skin plays a role in this by sweating.  This allows the water to evaporate and cool the body.  If your skin is cold, the blood vessels narrow so that the blood flow in the skin decreases to prevent heat loss.

3. Your Skin Senses. Nerve endings in your skin tell your brain when things are hot, cold, or causing you pain.  This ability to sense if something is dangerous or safe is another way your skin protects you.

4. Your Skin Produces.  Vitamin D is essential to your body’s health.  When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it uses a substance it contains (provitamin D3) to react with the ultraviolet B rays, thus forming Vitamin D3.  It then sends it to the liver and kidneys where it is converted into Vitamin D that your body can use.

5. Your Skin Absorbs.  Your skin absorbs fat-soluble substances such as Vitamins A,D, E and K.  It is also able to absorb hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, not to mention nicotine.  Unfortunately, it is also able to absorb harmful chemicals.  According to the World Health Organization:

While the skin does act as a barrier, it is not a complete barrier. Many chemicals do penetrate the skin, either intentionally or unintentionally, and cutaneous metabolism does occur. Because of its large surface area the skin may be a major route of entry into the body in some exposure situations.

Your skin does a lot for you.  One simple way to take good care of it is to use goat milk soap that will help moisturize your skin with healthy ingredients.

How are you treating your skin and your family’s skin?