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Comment by DoreenMichele | Hacker News Reader

Overall, I'm glad to see this piece proposing a more complex understanding of our largest organ. But some of what is said in this piece aggravates me, like this quote:

Disorders such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, rosacea, and eczema—all of which involve the skin, the immune system, and the gut—reveal just how intertwined these systems are.

As I noted a couple of days back, the so-called "immune system" is not a distinct, identifiable, separate set of organs and the skin's job of keeping out invaders makes it part of the immune system.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24015957

I will add that skin and gut tissue are both the exact same class of tissue: They are both epithelial tissue. So it should hardly be shocking that when one of your epithelial tissues has an issue, so does another.

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I've had rosacea since my late teens. About six years ago I stopped using shampoo as an experiment: I figured it would either make my skin worse, or better. To my surprise it had no effect at all. I had super greasy hair for about five days, then suddenly it was fine. I never went back to using shampoo regularly, but mostly just to save money – I use it maybe once every few months if I've actually gotten dirty, or I'm in a super humid climate.

By contrast, what I eat and drink has has a huge effect on my skin, and the only time I've actually looked 100% "normal" was when I was drinking an enormous regular dose of Chinese herbal medicine. But later I used a topical antibiotic, and that more or less fixed it: not as thoroughly as the Chinese medicine, but close enough (and it's way less hassle).

What is the moral of this story? I guess that no one I've ever spoken to has the remotest clue how the skin works.

Just curious if you're still using anything in your hair (water/conditioner) when you shower

Not op but I use some coconut oil, lime juice, and cinnamon concoction my wife gives me. Maybe every 2 or 3 weeks. It’s great and I have zero complaints about my hair or scalp. I’m pretty sure it’s from some recipes online or amalgam of recipes. I don’t use anything else except water when showering in between.

I don't use anything but hot water and "vigorous agitation", no. Though as noted I do end up using shampoo (diluted Dr Bronners) on occasion. For the rest i use a coarse washcloth, and I think I come out cleaner than those slathering themselves with "product". I'm currently talking myself out of using soap on the pits, though I think it will take much more time (and probably some other lifestyle changes) to stop using it on the nethers.

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