the skin
Our skin reflects our overall health, a glowing skin is a sure sign of good health, diet and hereditary factors have a huge impact on the appearance of our skin, good skincare is essential to get the best out of what mother nature has bestowed upon us.
What is skin?
The skin is the largest organ of the body, having a surface area of 1.8m and making up about 16% of our overall body weight, with a natural PH between 6 and 7. It is our natural barrier protecting our inner, soft to touch but achieving such a tough job which we all too often underestimate and take for granted what our skin does 24 – 7. Skin is a living organ, it grows new cells and sloughs off old ones all the time, so needs feeding healthily from both inside and out, and the results will be visible for all to see.
Made up of three main layers:
Epidermis
The outermost layer of the skin, Approx 0.1mm thick It forms the waterproof, protective barrier over the whole body. It contains no blood vessels and is made up of 5 even thinner layers.
Dermis
This contains all the working of the skin that make the skin function, nerve endings, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, hair follicles and blood vessels. Also containing a tough supportive mass of connective tissues collagen and elastin, two types of protein that give your skin it’s strength and elasticity.
Collagen fibres make up 70% of the dermis and give a toughness and strength.
Subcutaneous layer
Made up of loose connective tissue and fat cells, to insulate and protect your internal organs, this layer gives the skin it’s natural plumpness and contour.
What does the skin do?
A lot more than we think, it is a natural barrier protecting us from external environmental damage.
It contains a network of nerve endings that react to heat and cold, touch, pressure, and tissue injury
Regulates our body temperature, blood vessels allow precise control of energy and heat loss.
The skin provides an almost dry and impermeable barrier to fluid loss.
The skin acts as a storage centre for lipids and water, as well as manufacturing vitamin D by action of UV sun rays. (A lipid is any fat-soluble naturally-occurring molecule, such as fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol and fat-soluble vitamins
The production of sweat cools the skin through evaporation, and removes toxic substances.
Oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide can diffuse into the skin in small amounts, as well a, medicine which be administered through the skin, by ointments or patches, such as the nicotine patch.
All these functions mean that the appearance of our skin is a good indicator of our general health.
