Basics of Skin Types
Posted on 01. Jan, 2009 by admin in Causes of Acne
A Much Closer Look At The Body Armor Known As Your Skin
A tiny area like the back of your hand is covered (literally) with many amazing wonders. Are you aware of the fact that there are 9,500,000 cells located in this small space? There are also 19 yards of tiny blood vessels, 100 sebaceous glands, 20,000 sensory cells, 65 hairs, 650 sweat glands, 1,300 nerve endings and 78 yards of nerves. It may be hard to imagine but the largest organ of our body that is more commonly known as the skin can cover 20 square feet and it can add up to 15% of our body’s total weight. The skin is an amazing part of our body that not only serves to protect us from many harmful effects the environment can cause, but it also allows us the ability to feel both pleasure and pain. Your skin is at work non-stop renewing cells as needed.
An Introduction to the Epidermis
The top layer of your skin is an organ of your body like many others that work to keep us alive; the skin is also continuously at work doing the same. You can think of the outermost layer of the skin as your natural body of armor, which protects each of us from the rain, wind and sun. It is made of dead skin cells that are known as corneocytes. You skin is continuously renewing itself by sloughing away dead cells and replacing them with healthy new cells that are constantly forming. As new skin cells located at the base of the epidermis become ready to replace old cells they gradually make their way along the epidermal layer, where they eventually begin to replace the dead ones. The entire process a cell goes through can take approximately one month to complete. In the matter of just a few minutes you can lose around 40,000 skin cells, and the entire time this is occurring 95% of the epidermis is hard at work creating new cells. The remaining 5% contain melanocytes and Langerhan cells. Melancocytes produce the substance that gives color to our skin or melanin, and Langerhan cells work along with the immune system that continuously helps us to fight off illnesses and disease.
The Delicate Dermis
The dermis is located beneath epidermis, and it makes up a large portion of the skin. It is also the foundation for our epidermis. This layer is responsible for producing elastin, collagen and reticulin. It is also the substance that gives your skin support and structure. Within the dermis you will find blood vessels, nerve endings, sweat glands and oil glands – you can think of these as the motor that allows the skin to stay in good working order. The nerve endings are what give us feeling to things like the sun shining on your skin and sand that seems to find its way between each of your toes. Sebum is produced from the oil glands and sweat glands work like a built in air conditioner helping to keep our skin cool. While each of these important functions are taking place the blood vessels are also busy at work supplying nutrients that the skin needs to continuously be able to replenish itself. They also travel to the lungs taking waste products for the process of oxygenation and renewal.
Subcutaneous Fat
Most of us think of fat as being something that is bad for us, but this is not entirely true. However fat cells are exactly what a majority of the bottom layer of our skin called the subcutaneous layer is made from. There are several different factors that determine the thickness of this tissue. Your eating habits, gender, heredity, hormones, even your age play a part in this determination. When you experience bumps or a jolt of some sort, this layer of your skin helps to protect you like shocks would on a vehicle, and it works similar to insulation by keeping your body nice and warm. The roots of hair follicles that are located all over your body also begins in the subcutaneous layer. The sebaceous hair follicles travel up through the dermis delivering sebum to the top layer of your skin serving as protection and it also help it to stay pliable.
Perhaps one reason many of has heard the saying that “beauty is skin deep” is because our skin is a part of our body that is visible to the entire world. The appearance of our skin can tell many things about our health, origin, our state of mind, and even our age. Although it can repair itself quite amazingly, it is not totally invincible. As many as one person out of three will at some point in their life experience some type of skin disorder. Most all of us are familiar with bothersome pimples, and there are some who suffer serious problems with acne that can be experienced well into adulthood, which can lead to permanent psychological and physical damage. If you are an individual who suffers from acne, the next step in battling this annoying condition is to find out exactly how acne begins.
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