Bowe - The beauty of dirty skin: the surprising science to looking and feeling radiant from the inside out

A s a kid, I was always covered in dirt. I loved to dig in the earth, and I loved frogs and grass and bugs. Once, I even hid a snake in my overalls, which caused quite a stir when my kindergarten teacher discovered it! I was a blond-haired, blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked free spirit who dirtied a set of clothes about as fast as I could change into them. But that was all before I got sick.

You see, that carefree little girl spent her tenth year of life in and out of the hospital. The environment was sterile and cold. I was afraid. I was in painawful, chronic pain. The doctors didnt know how to help me. My parents didnt know how to help me, either.

It turns out that a bad buga parasitehad made its way into my intestines from fish I had eaten while on a family vacation. It wreaked complete havoc on my body. Even worse, the doctors couldnt find it. They tried to treat me with antibiotic after antibiotic, which eventually destroyed the healthy bacteria in my gut, leaving behind an infectious type of bad bacteria called Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, which made me even sicker. This horrific combination of circumstances, in which one bad microbe was followed by another, hurt my body and changed my life.

But all was not lost, because as I sat in the hospital, I started to think. Even as a ten-year-old, I could reason, explore, ask questions, and try to make sense of things (maybe it was my way of coping). I knew that where we have bad, we always have good. Its the age-old balance between good and evil. So where we have harmful microbes, we also have helpful microbesalthough the beneficial ones that had been slaughtered in my gut by antibiotics could no longer help me. This thinking process is where the happy ending to my story beganit started me on a passionate lifelong quest to find the answers to the question of how to create and maintain a balance between the heroic and villainous microbes that live in our bodies and on our skin.

From the moment I was released from the hospital, I was inspired to make my body strong and healthy. I was concerned with the obvious outward signs of health, such as glowing, radiant skin, as well as the hidden, invisible indicators of health, the ones that lie deep beneath the surface. This is where my passion for health and beauty from the outside in and the inside out was born. And this is where my fascination with the science of the microbial bugs that exist on our skin and throughout our bodies, including in our gut, initially began, because I experienced this balance (or imbalance) firsthand. Who better to investigate the depths of this area of science than someone who fought for her life because of it?

I succeeded in what I set out to achieve: a robust body that emanates health. Now I help others achieve that goal. In so many ways, I am still that happy and curious rosy-cheeked girl who loves nature. But now Im also a doctor who has found a lot of answers to those lifelong questions. My curiosity about microbiology has only grown fiercer now that science is finally grasping the magnitude of the influence that the hidden microbial world within usand on ushas over our health. And this dazzling new science shows definitively that these invisible bugs have a lot to do with how we look. I now know, as youre about to learn, that even on my best day, I have microorganisms in the form of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and even mites living all over my body that support my health from the inside out and give me that Bowe Glow. And even on your best day, youre a dirty human being, too, whose health and appearance hinges on those bugs! (And if youre not having your best day now, read on.)

Learning to harness those things that make you dirty will help you radiate a healthy, beautiful glow from the outside in and the inside out. Your skin is a window on your overall health. It speaks to the other integral parts of your body through something called the gut-brain-skin axis, a pathway that you will get to know and understand in these pages. This groundbreaking science has become my lifes work and has earned me recognition among my colleagues and among international thought leaders. Now lets take an expedition together to find your most luminous skin and overall wellness using the best cutting-edge science and tools available today. Like me, youll learn to love your good bugs and harness your bodys full potential. Lets show that ten-year-old little girl in the hospital bed that the story turns out beautifully!

Take a moment to think about your skin. Find a mirror, if that helps. How does your skin feel and look? How do you feel about it? What do you think it says about you? Think of your skins appearance as a reflection of your overall healthhow healthy do you look?

Within seconds of meeting a new patient, I can use my derm superpowers (well, years of extensive training and developing expertise, but that doesnt sound as cool) to determine her overall health simply by examining her skin, hair, and nails. Is she diabetic or prediabetic? Does she eat a Western diet laden with processed sugars and refined carbs? Is her life overscheduled and full of constant, unremitting stress? Does she suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder? A dysfunctional thyroid? An imbalanced hormonal system? An autoimmune disorder? Insomnia? Does she have a history of frequent antibiotic use, either orally or topically or both? Is she overly hygienic, scrubbing her skin with harsh cleansers and facial brushes? Is her gastrointestinal system in need of serious repair?