In our next few articles, we’re going to be talking about all things skin health-related, starting with why skin health matters, how to better support your skin health, and treatments to give your skin an extra boost.
Why skin health matters:
Did you know that your skin is your body’s largest organ?
It serves many different roles and purposes, the most important being to protect your body from external dangers such as bacteria, chemicals, foreign objects, dirt, temperature or UV rays from the sun.
The nerves in your skin also give your brain important information about things you come into contact with. Is an object hot, cold, soft, hard, blunt or sharp? The knowledge gathered by your skin can quite literally be lifesaving.
With so much work to do, your skin needs care and attention to ensure that it’s as healthy as possible.
Understanding the structure of your skin
You might find it helpful to understand a bit more about the structure of healthy skin and why each element is important.
Your skin has three main layers:
The Epidermis is the outermost layer and is about the thickness of a piece of paper; it’s this layer that creates our skin tone and acts as the first line of defence against external threats.
The middle layer is the dermis, which contains connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, sebaceous (oil) glands and sweat glands. These all play a crucial role in regulating the temperature of your skin and body.
You’ve probably heard of collagen and elastin as they’re key ingredients of many skin and facial aesthetic treatments. Both of these are proteins found in the dermis that provide support and elasticity to the skin. Factors such as ageing or exposure to the sun’s UV rays break down these proteins, causing the skin to begin to wrinkle and lose its youthful firmness.
Beneath this is the hypodermis , which contains a layer of fatty tissue that nourishes the dermis and epidermis. This insulating layer also helps to conserve your body heat and protect your internal organs from trauma.
Within the epidermi
There are important sub-layers within the epidermis and these each play an important role in keeping you safe and healthy.
A. The stratum corneum is the uppermost surface of your skin and the first barrier between the inner workings of your body and the outside world. It is composed mainly of a protein called keratin and lipids (fats), as well as closely packed dead cells.
B. Next comes the stratum granulosum. There’s a lot of activity in this layer as keratin proteins and lipids work together to create many of the cells in your skin’s protective barrier.
C. Beneath this comes the stratum spinosum (aka the squamous cell layer), which produces keratin, the fibrous protein that gives skin, hair and nails their integrity and water-resistant properties.
D. Finally, there is the stratum basale where skin cells are reproduced. This layer contains one row of column-shaped keratinocytes called basal cells. These cells are constantly dividing and pushing already-formed cells up through the higher layers of the epidermis.
Did you know that your palms and soles of your feet have an extra layer to the epidermis?
The skin on the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet has a lot of work to do, which is why there is an extra layer within the epidermis in these two areas called the stratum lucidum.
In Latin, stratum lucidum means “clear layer”, referring to the transparent nature of the cells that sit between the stratum corneum and stratum granulosum with the purpose of reducing friction between the sandwiching layers.
What does healthy skin look like?
As we can see, the skin is a complex structure with every element working in harmony to protect your body.
But how do you know if your skin is healthy? What does that look like?
We live in a world where we’re bombarded with images of people with flawless complexions. You may be worried that your unique birthmarks, freckles or blemishes mean your skin isn’t in tip-top condition.
In fact, very few people have “perfect” skin.
We’re all prone to areas of pigmentation, texture, acne or redness
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