How to Improve Skin Health & Appearance

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, we are discussing skin health. Our skin is an incredibly important organ, not just for our appearance or because it serves as a barrier to the other organ systems of the body, but because it actually reflects the health status of all the other organs and systems in our body, including our brain. As well, you'll learn today about the direct and reciprocal relationship between the immune system and our skin. And if you think about it, you've seen this relationship in action before. When any of us is feeling fatigued or sick, the color, the tone of our skin tends to be a bit, quote unquote, off, at least for us, relative to what it normally is. Conversely, when we are feeling particularly well rested and vibrant and healthy, our skin reflects that. So today we will discuss the skin as an organ. We'll talk a little bit about the biology of skin so that everybody's on board the nomenclature of the different cell types in the skin and how they're affected by various things. And then we will discuss those things, such as sunlight and sun exposure as it relates to skin cancers. We'll talk about sunscreens, of course, something that I know garners a lot of interest these days and even some controversy. We will talk about common conditions of skin that concern people such as acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema. And of course, we will talk about so-called anti-aging treatments for skin. That is the things that can be done to help reduce the degradation of the protein components in skin, things like collagen, things that you can do to improve collagen turnover, as well as elastin. These are other proteins within skin that give skin its youthful, or in some cases where it's degenerative, non-youthful appearance, things like wrinkles and sagging skin. So we'll talk about all of that. We'll also talk about the various products that have been developed in order to treat wrinkles, treat sagging skin, reverse acne, et cetera. We'll talk about which ones are safe, which ones are not safe, and which ones for which there still is no clear answer. I want to make very clear here at the outset that while I'll discuss various skin products during today's episode, I nor the podcast has any financial relationship to those products. I will provide examples of certain products and provide a few links in the show note captions, but I want to point out that those serve merely as examples that I found during researching this episode, which by the way, included speaking to several board certified dermatologists, including a dermatologist expert in oncology, cancers of the skin. So by the end of today's episode, you will have a much clearer understanding about skin and what it is at the level of biology and function, its relationship to other systems in the body, including the immune system and gut microbiome, and you will be armed with the knowledge to make the best possible decisions for you in terms of skin health and skincare, depending on your age, your goals and any current conditions you may have. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Joovv. Joovv makes medical grade red light therapy devices. Now, if there's one thing I've consistently emphasized on this podcast, it's the incredible impact that light can have in our biology. Now, in addition to sunlight, red light and near infrared light have been shown to have positive effects on improving numerous aspects of cellar and organ health, including faster muscle recovery, improved skin health and wound healing, even improvements in acne, reducing pain and inflammation, improving mitochondrial function and even improving vision itself. What sets Joovv lights apart and why they're my preferred red light therapy devices is that they use clinically proven wavelengths, meaning it uses specific wavelengths of red light and near infrared light in combination to trigger the optimal cellar adaptations. Personally, I use the Joovv handheld light both at home and when I travel. It's only about the size of a sandwich, so it's super portable and convenient to use. I also have a Joovv whole body panel and I use that about three or four times per week. If you'd like to try Joovv, you can go to Joovv, spelled joovv.com/huberman.