Scenario One: A Quiet Case for Skin Health in Social Prescribing

What if Skin Health Was Fully Integrated into Social Prescribing?

A practical step toward whole-person wellbeing

Social prescribing connects people to non-medical support - walking groups, art classes, volunteering, and community gardening - to improve health and wellbeing. It’s a powerful recognition that our environment, relationships, and daily routines shape how we feel and function.

But one part of the picture is still missing:

skin health - despite skin being the largest organ of the body.

Despite rising rates of acne, eczema, rosacea, and other visible skin conditions - and their impact on confidence, mental health, and quality of life - skin health is rarely mentioned in connection with social prescribing.

And yet, many existing activities already support it, indirectly:

How Social Prescribing Can Support Skin Health

• Reduced stress helps calm inflammatory skin conditions

• Better sleep promotes skin repair and barrier resilience

• Movement and nature improve circulation, mood, and regulation

• Community connection helps reduce isolation and shame

• Practical support (e.g. mould, damp housing, poor ventilation) can reduce environmental skin triggers

• Empowered self-care builds healthier skin habits in daily life

What I’m Asking For

Not a new service. Not more funding.

Just this:

That skin health be named and recognised as part of the whole-person wellbeing model that social prescribing already supports.

It’s a small shift - but a powerful one.

Because when we name skin, we give people permission to care about it.

To talk about it. To seek help where needed. And to see it not as vanity, but as health.

The Skin Well™ quietly asks: why isn’t skin health included in social prescribing?

📬 Related Open Letter(s):

• Open Letter 5: A Quiet Call to Include Skin in Public Health

 Last update May 2025

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