What Touches the Skin
– Fibers, dyes, and finishes in everyday clothing. Understanding how textiles shape the body’s internal chemistry.
In order to talk about our environment honestly, we can’t only look at the things we are putting in our bodies, but also look at the things we are putting on our bodies.
The skin is an organ, it absorbs and reacts to everything that it comes in contact with. It responds to everything it touches, the degradation of our food systems, the toxicity of our environment, the chemical overloads, etc. these are all stressors.
In these pages, we are going to try to gather information –facts – about the fabrics that we choose, the cleaners that we use in our homes and anything else that comes in contact with our bodies.
The object is not to overhaul your entire life. It’s merely to know the truth so you can make informed decisions when you’re able to.
THE SKIN IS NOT A BARRIER — IT IS A GATEWAY
It interacts with fibers, dyes and finishes, and it shapes our body’s chemistry by how it responds to whatever touches it.
What we wear is not just clothing, it is so much more. It’s exposure. It’s something that has become habit and comfort.
This is not merely a holistic idea – it is also science.
It is chemistry.
We were meant to live in a world where “choices” were simple because systems were sane.
Instead we live in one where: water is bottled, the soil is poisoned, clothing is petroleum, food is engineered and attention is weaponized.
We cannot continue to bury our collective heads in the sand.
Reflection
Note: The first thing to do isn’t to be perfect—it’s to get a sense of what’s going on.
You don’t have to overhaul your wardrobe overnight.
Building resilience is adding up little things, not just changing your look.
Start by paying attention to:
What fabrics bother your skin
Which clothes make you smell or feel hot
Which dyes cause redness or itching
Which clothes make you feel softer
When you’re aware of these things, you’re opening the door to change. You can replace things gradually and on purpose.
How Textiles Reshaped My Thinking – It Got Personal
These days when I think about the clothes I wear and the textiles in my world, I see the journey, the search for information that shaped my understanding of the chemistry of textiles and the impact on global biology and ecology.
I was choosing my food consciously for decades, but my clothing, fibers, and textiles were unexamined.
I protected one doorway and left the other wide open.
I am drawn to natural fibers by default and that kept me from being completely swallowed, because this world that we live in, was built for profit and profit doesn’t care if your skin absorbs petroleum or your lungs inhale micro-plastics.
I had to restructure my way of thinking.
I made adjustments, I revised my connections and reconnected with the environment my body lives in.
Clothing is contact. I embraced my view that clothing is not fashion and I don’t have to subscribe to the fashion industry.
I don’t need a wardrobe full of clothes, I just need a few key pieces I love.
When you accumulate pieces that transcends style there’s no in or out of season and you begin to recognize your own personal flair a little more.
I can find these at second hand stores, and that makes them affordable, and sustainable.
Saving another thing slated for the landfill, completing that circle matters.
→ The textile industry utilizes over 8,000 different synthetic chemicals to turn raw materials into finished, dyed, and treated fabrics.
Reflection
Note: THE HIDDEN COST OF FAST FASHION
Fast fashion isn’t just about ethics; it’s also about health. The clothes we wear travel through fumigated containers, chemical warehouses, industrial laundries, and finishing processes before they touch our skin.
When a shirt arrives at your doorstep, it’s been through more chemicals than your pantry.
The Hidden Reality of Modern Fabrics
Most modern clothing is made from polyester, nylon, acrylic, rayon, spandex and performance fabrics and all of those fabrics are petroleum based. Petroleum based fabrics, that touches your skin more than anything else.
Did you know those fibers shed micro plastics?
Did you know they trap heat?
Did you know they release chemicals?
I didn’t. Not at first. I didn’t even know that this was an area I should have been questioning. Once I started looking, I was shocked and overwhelmed: sweat and bacteria lingers on the skin.
Irritants move into pores.
The body’s natural regulation slowly becoming overwhelmed. Ultimately the overload causes physical changes you can feel and see.
And all while I was eating organic foods, drinking recommended water, cutting back on caffeine, my skin was quietly absorbing chemicals and micro plastics.
You pay the price for cheap clothing somewhere along the line.
WHY NATURAL FIBERS MATTER
The whole truth about natural fibers: they breathe, keep you cool, and don’t shed tiny plastic bits, they don’t release harmful petroleum byproducts into our bodies, plus they break down safely in nature.
Choosing natural fibers is an act of resilience.
Here’s a quick list of some great options:
- Organic cotton
- Linen
- Hemp
- Wool
- Silk
- Bamboo (when it’s been processed properly)
- Tencel/Modal
Natural textures can help your nervous system relax. These fabrics aren’t just good for the planet; they’re also good for your body.
Reflection
Note: The Harder Truth:
And finally, here’s another truth – even natural fibers aren’t pure.
I wasn’t ready for that and it hit my system the hardest.
Natural fibers often carry chemical treatments that do not easily wash out.
Formaldehyde (wrinkle-resistant coating)
PFAS (stain-resistant finish)
Azo dyes (linked to skin irritation)
Heavy metals (in pigments)
Flame retardants
Antimicrobial treatments
Optical brighteners
Reflection
Your clothing is not merely decoration! The fibers you place against your skin shape your comfort, your chemistry, your hormones, and your daily well-being.
Every natural texture you choose is a quiet act of liberation.
→ Return to The Resilient Table