From public health officials on TV to caring family members in our homes, we’re all receiving daily reminders about the need for frequent hand washing to prevent the spread of coronavirus. But a deeper look at today’s culture of skincare reveals that most of our standards of cleanliness are less related to health than most people think. In his new book Clean: The New Science of Skin, doctor and journalist James Hamblin explores the surprising and unintended effects of our hygiene practices with dermatologists, microbiologists, allergists, immunologists, aestheticians, bar-soap enthusiasts, venture capitalists, and more, and introduces us to the emerging science of the skin’s microbiome – a little-known ecosystem of microbes that is critical to our quest for “healthy skin”.
Join Aspen Ideas: Health for an informative and entertaining book talk with James Hamblin to discuss what it really means to be clean. The 30-minute conversation will include time for Q&A, so please come with your questions for the author.
About the Author:
James Hamblin
Author; Staff Writer, The Atlantic
James Hamblin, MD, MPH, is a staff writer at The Atlantic, a lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health, and a specialist in preventive medicine. In his writing for The Atlantic and daily podcast “Social Distance”, he covers health, science and, this year, the coronavirus. Hamblin is the author of If Our Bodies Could Talk and hosted a video series of the same name. He’s based in Brooklyn, New York. He only uses soap on his hands.
