Everyone knows that when you’re stressed or tired, it shows in your skin. Similarly, we all know how touch, more than any of the senses, induces a mental state of well-being, whilst smell offers the most primitive and evocative experiences: it’s easy to understand therefore how texture and fragrance are such important factors in skincare products. We shall see how the connection between skin and brain operates as a two-way street: how touch affects subjective consciousness and how events in the physical brain are reflected in changes in the skin. Most recently clinicians have become aware that even specific brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, might be detectable with changes to the epidermis. More exciting still is the fact that skin cells, unlike most of the rest of the adult body, are in a constant state of renewal: as such the epidermis provides a new way of modelling biological processes seen in the developing brain that could provide new insights into the process of skin ageing compared to calendar age, - and thus lead to fresh ideas in skin care. The close interaction between skin and brain is only now being fully appreciated and opens up a new world of possibilities.