Let’s learn something about the skin!
Did you know that the skin is the largest organ of the body?
Well, it is our major barrier between the inside and outside of your body, and has an area of about 2 square metres (22 square feet) in adults and weighs about 5 Kg.
It is made up of three main layers which are the Epidermis, Dermis and Hypodermis (or Subcutaneous layer, according to which book you read).
- The Epidermis is the outer layer, and this is the part of the skin that you see with its protective 'acid mantle' (which I will talk about in another SkinBlog).
It has 5 layers, and these layers can vary in thickness due to ethnicity and where you live in the world. If you live in Central Africa for instance, your epidermis will be thicker, due to the body's natural genetic response to the climatic conditions and protection again the damaging rays of the sun. I always find I have to advise my clients of African and Caribbean origins to remember to protect their skins when travelling back to their birth place or the family origins if they have lived in the UK for all or most of their lives, as their skin protection reduces due to the epidermis thinning a little - they can get sunburn as well!
The skin also has a natural shedding process, and we stimulate this through cleansing and massaging our skin, or adding to the process, by using certain skin care products.. This is really important as your skin matures, because the shedding process starts to slow down, then making the skin appear dull, grey and dry looking. Skin care product manufacturers' have researched the skin's natural processes and have developed innovative ingredients within their products to aid skin cell removal or renewal. This is often called either exfoliation. or if you need a deeper skin removal, then you can use a skin peeling product. This home or salon based treatment is ideal to help stimulate the cell growth at the lower part of the epidermis and it is this which is termed 'cell renewal' not the actual removal. A product that is a must for all who have maturing skin.
- The Dermis is often known as the true or living skin. It is thicker than the epidermis and contains the nerve endings, blood supply, the hair follicles and the glands, like the sweat glands. The tissue that makes up the dermis is formed by collagen and elastin. These protein fibres are important, giving the skin its plumpness and elasticity, but their production slows down as the skin matures, starting at around the age of 23.
These proteins can be badly affected by UV rays when overdosing with sunbathing or using sunbeds too regularly, UVA rays from the sun penetrates and gives long term, and often, irreversible effects. The elastin fibres lose their spring and the collagen fibres hardens, and this can show as premature ageing, whereas, normally this ageing process is much slower, taking quite a few decades. This is the wearing of a sunblock type of sunscreen that stops the penetration of UVA rays, as it not only helps to protect the skin from the premature ageing process but also from skin cancer.
Heat and sun have another affect, together with smoking and drinking alcohol, and that is damaging the tiny capillaries that feed the skin. These capillaries are tiny blood vessels that have very thin walls, so are easily damaged. This damage can be seen as reddened skin with split capillaries and they are difficult to reverse. There are treatments that can be performed in a salon or skin clinic, but if you continue to use the causers then they will return.
- The Hypodermis or Subcutaneous layer is the most inner layer, that forms a padding between the skin and the underlying structures, such as bones, muscles and organs. This layer is made up of a mixture of collagen, elastin and subcutaneous fat cells, with the blood vessels and nerve fibres that travel from the main supplies of main blood vessels and nerves to the dermis, are also seen here..
Understanding the skin’s structure helps you to understand how the skin functions and how it indicates your skin type and condition, so it is important to understand how it works and why it gives you the skin you have. We will be building on this in further SkinBlogs that I have written, so that you have a thorough understanding which will help you know what makes your maturing skin behave the way it does in a variety of external (and internal) conditions. So, keep a look out for my announcements.
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