
And while these nutrients may (or, then again, may not) have cosmetic effects on the surface of the skin, very little if any of those nutrients are penetrating beyond the skin’s surprisingly tough outer layers. Lotions and cosmetic potions often tout their vitamin-drenched formulas.
#DOES YOUR SKIN ABSORB WATER SKIN#
Imagine for just a moment if everything that touched your skin ended up in your bloodstream! The skin is actually designed to be a fairly impenetrable barrier. However, I’m skeptical that any of these substances will actually end up in your bloodstream. There are companies who will take your money RIGHT NOW for patches, gels, and bath salts containing magnesium, vitamin D, CoQ10, and various other herbs and nutrients that claim to alleviate nutrient deficiencies, boost your energy, and (of course) help you lose weight. Scientists working on the project don’t expect to have anything ready for field testing for another ten years or so.īut you don’t have to wait for those fusty old scientists to dot every i and cross every t.
#DOES YOUR SKIN ABSORB WATER PATCH#
The US military, for example, is working on a skin patch that could deliver nutrients and other compounds to soldiers “during periods of high-intensity conflict,” when getting adequate nutrition from food might be challenging. Why not vitamins and minerals? Are nutrient patches the future? Nicotine, estrogen, testosterone, and certain pain medications can all be delivered through the skin through medicinal patches, gels, or creams. Instead of swallowing a handful of pills and worrying about whether or not they are being absorbed, why not bypass the digestive tract altogether and apply them directly to your skin? For that matter, when we talk about nutrient absorption, we’re usually talking about the absorption of nutrients from the digestive system into the bloodstream.īut a handful of companies are trying to change the way we think about nutritional supplementation. When we think about taking nutrients into our bodies, we usually think about swallowing them, in the form of pills, powders, or that radical format known as food. military and pharmaceutical companies are working on ways to deliver nutrients through the skin, but we're not there yet. A lot of the compounds found in commercially-marketed transdermal patches are neither. In order to be absorbed through your skin and into your bloodstream, a compound needs fat-soluble and very, very small.Some vitamin patch productes include disclaimers like: “This product has not been tested for safety or efficacy.”.

There are companies making products that claim to deliver magnesium, vitamin D, CoQ10 and other nutrients through the skin, but you have reason to be skeptical.The skin is designed to be a fairly impenetrable barrier.Sunlight and Vitamin D: A global perspective for health. How the nervous system interacts with other body systems. The role of skin absorption as a route of exposure for volatile organic compounds (Vocs) in drinking water. Skin structure–function relationships and the wound healing response to intrinsic aging. Human hair as a natural sun protection agent: a quantitative study.

Functions of the integumentary system.ĭe Gálvez MV, Aguilera J, Bernabó J-L, Sánchez-Roldán C, Herrera-Ceballos E. Benign breast diseases: classification, diagnosis, and management. Content background: the anatomy and composition of hair. The skin, hair, and nails.ĭuke University. Anatomy of the skin.ĭartmouth Medical School. The mammary glands are semicircular in shape in young females, but later the glands begin to lose their shape. A single mammary gland weighs about 500 to 1000 grams (1.1 to 2.2 pounds).
