Your skin is the absolute first thing people see when they first meet you. It’s
condition can says a lot about you. Bald, great hair , jaundiced , pale , dark
, tanned , dry , scaly, smooth, sleek , wrinkled, blackheads, acne, thick nails
, calloused hands, soft hands, freckles, scars, irregular pigmentation, skin
literally comes in all shapes, colors and sizes.
What is your skin?
It is a complex organ system encasing your body. It is divided into two major
sections, your component of what we call the “skin” and the appendages
or adnexae consisting of your hair,
nails, and glands. Apocrine glands found in the armpits, groin, eyelids and
ears, are associated with the hair follicles and secrete or produce a milky
secretion that is odorless until exposed to the skin’s bacteria where you
develop that rich earthy smell associated with hunting camps and men’s locker
rooms. Eccrine or “sweat” glands are distributed over the entire body but more
so in the hands, feet, armpits, and forehead. Great for first dates and wedding
days. The sebaceous glands are the oil glands which are associated with “shiny
noses” and pimples. Muscles are present in the skin which can move the hairs (“make
the hair stand up on the back of your head”) or cause the nipples to become
erect.
The skin has a complex set of nerves, blood vessels and muscles. At the
cellular level there are many different cells. Some cells make the pigment
melanin which gives us our “color” or our summer tan. Others make restore the
lost epithelial cells of the top layer or the epidermis while other specialized
cells make your nails, hair, moles. Important cells responsible for the
tightness are the fibroblasts. These cells make the material or molecules that
form collagen fibers and elastic fibers. This process is an ongoing process
that continual renews your collagen and elastic layer that is are the “springs”
and the stress resistant layer of your skin. Surgeons know when they incise the
skin of a child the wound will immediately gap open. The same incision on an
elderly person will barely open, such is the difference in elasticity of skin
due to aging. This is also why the elderly easily bruise their skin while doing
yard or house work. Things at effect the collagen and elastic fiber production
is UV radiation, smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, vitamin deficiencies,
illness, congenital problems, physical stress, heavy metal exposure, and
environmental damage.
Your skin is different according to location:
The facial skin is rich
in oil and sweat glands along with hair follicles. These structures make the
facial skin more resistant to injury than say the skin of the back or neck.
This is why cosmetic surgeons can treat the facial skin of the face with
abrasion, lasers, or chemical peels, and have the face heal relatively quickly
without scarring,(unless procedures carried to deeply)as opposed to the neck or
upper chest which a lot of aggressive treatment would cause scarring. Some skin
is thin such as the eyelid that is about as thick as poster paper versus the
back which is thicker than cardboard.
What is its function?
Your skin’s primary function is to protect you. It has other
functions as well, such as temperature regulation and removal of toxins. But
its’ primary function is to act as a protective barrier. It is a waterproof (to
an extent), flexible, barrier designed to protect your body from things from
coming in such as inanimate objects (stones, sticks) and animate objects
animals, insects, bacteria, fungus and viruses It other function is to keep
your things in such as fluids, minerals to stop you from drying out. Your skin
is a vital part of your immune system. It secretes a slightly acidic mantle
that is bactericidal. Frequent bathing and showering will degrade this important
part of your health system.
All in all your skin is an incredibly complex structure vital to your health
and appearance. It deserves the best you can give it in the way of care,
protection and feeding.
