The place of skin and body modifications in the constitution of ego

In object relation theory and particularly in Esther Bick's theory, skin has a mayor function in the process of the Self constitution; with Bick's concept of skin as a container, the role of this body organ as a mediator in the integration of parts of personality on infants is emphasized. For the development of this role, the introjection of the mother containing function is necessary, because if not introjected, the infant must develop substitutive methods for containing himself. In Bick's theory these methods would take the form of second skins. This article analyses the relation between the body modification and its possible relation with second skin forms in adulthood.