“Skin health is a public health issue,” she says. “It’s the number one reason that people in America see doctors. The pure number of people who have skin concerns makes it an epidemic. The pure variety of the problems within our skin makes it an epidemic.”
As an example, she points to the increasing rates of acne—as well as adult acne. It’s so common at this point that it’s considered a “universal” problem in Western societies, afflicting 79% to 95% of the adolescent population3. And it doesn’t stop with teens. Adult acne in women has increased 10% over the past 10 years, according to one survey.
Skin conditions in children are also on the rise. One study found that 90% of school aged children had at least 1 skin disease (with a wide range of severity, I should add). Researchers—not just Tjam—connect this to the increasing rates of allergies in children: In the last ten years, the number of children “at risk” for a severe reaction increased 104 percent.
Her radical solution? Go sober from skin care products.“And the solution is so simple: Stop fussing so much over our skin with all these products and allow it to heal.” It’s the central argument of her book: If you let it, skin can take care of itself, and that modern formulations get in the way of its ability to do so. Tune in to hear more.
