INTRODUCTION<br >:::::::)kin is our outer wrapper. It not only keeps what is inside us inside<br >)ut also protects our innards from substances and infections that<br >:ould do us serious harm. Yet most of us take our skin for granted.<br >or example， few people realize that skin is an organ-but it is! It may<br >lot pump blood as a heart does or produce bile as a liver does， but<br >;kin is the largest organ of our body. Skin is also unique. While it lets<br >noisture out of the body， it stops water from going in. Pretty sophis-<br >icated， right?<br > Maybe it is because we see our skin so much that we take it so<br >ightly. We tan it， scratch it， and cover it with cosmetics. We tattoo it<br >.~nd pierce it， pinch it and tickle it. There is almost no end to what we<br >Jo to our skin. Luckily， skin can take most of it. Or at least we thought<br >~o in the past.<br > When 1 was a kid， a sign of health was a good tan. My mother<br >~nd her friends would imp!ore me and my friends to get out into tt~e<br >~un. The darker we were when we came home， they thought， the<br >neattt~er we were. Little did anyone<br >~ure would be-in terms of wrinkles，<br >risk of skin cancer-later in our lives.<br >know how damaging that expo~<br >premature aging， and increased<br > In addition， most of us are never told the facts about skin care.<br >Too often， skin-care advice is gleaned from glossy magazines or chats<br >at tt~e beauty shop. From misleading skin product ads to uninformed<br >salesclerks， we are otten wooed into buying products and potio:ls<br >tiLat do more l:arm tl~ar ， good.<br >vii<br >