Thinking With Your Skin

A new scientific discovery from the Clé de Peau Beauté laboratory reveals and visualises a skin gene network that is intelligent and has its own five senses

-  Lynette Ow 

The skin may appear to be nothing more than a casing for your inner soul, or a surface to be shaved, sprayed, powdered, moisturised, lotioned, painted and otherwise controlled for reasons of beauty, comfort or vanity. However, it’s been clear for a long time now that the skin is not only the largest human organ but also one of the most vital in the body: its functions are far more complex and diverse than predicted decades ago.

As with our eyes, ears, nose and tongue, the skin is one of five sensory organs that channel information to our brain to help us perceive the world and make cognitive decisions like what coffee you’d like to have in the mornings or where to go for your next vacation. In an extended narrative, a theory now reveals that the skin is also an “intelligent” organ, separate from the brain.

Skin Intelligence is the new discovery from Clé de Peau Beauté (CPB), the Shiseido Group’s global luxury skincare and make-up brand, that was revealed at a global event in Tokyo, Japan, this June. “When I visit a temple, my skin tingles and I experience a profound sense of awe. It is a sensation that is not easily explained, but one I recognise as Skin Intelligence,” says Dr Shinobu Nakanishi, research scientist at CPB laboratory.