Skincare Basics

We delve extensively into all matters relating to anti-aging in our companion site - HowToLookYearsYounger.com. In this site we cover more beauty-related topics such as skincare, beauty products, spas treatments and more. To fully understand skincare, you first have to ask yourself...

What is Skin?

It may seem like a strange question to ask, what is skin?  Everyone alive has it; not only that, it's everywhere you look.  No matter how bundled up you are against the weather, you still expose some skin, as will the person next to you.

Skin is something we typically don't think that much about, but it really is a fascinating topic and a very interesting part of the human anatomy.  To talk about how to fix a skin problem such as wrinkles, we do well to talk about just what is skin to better understand why it gets wrinkles, acne, blackheads, freckles, moles, and so on.

AN ORGAN

Quick, can you name the body's largest organ?  It's actually the skin.  That's right, the skin is an organ just like your liver or your brain.  It's the only organ that can exist outside the body and that is nourished from the inside out, so to speak.

Expose any other organ to daylight and you need to be sure that you're doing so only under very strict surgical procedures.  If your liver or your brain gets exposed to the outside elements, it can die very quickly even if your heart is still feeding it blood and it's receiving adequate oxygen as well.  Our other organs are not meant to live outside the body, whereas our skin is not meant to be submerged in blood inside the body the way all the other organs are.

The definition of an organ in terms of biology is an element that has two types of tissues working together to perform a specific function.  Your liver is an organ because it is designed to assist with the body's metabolic function.  The kidneys act as a filter.  Organs are different from muscles because muscles exist for the sake of movement and do not perform a function on their own.  You use your arm muscles only when your body makes them contract, either because you consciously reach for something or because the body reacts on its own.

COMPOSITION OF THE SKIN

There are three layers of skin; the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous layer.  These layers are each made up of a bundle of tissues and nerves.

Epidermis

This is the outermost layer of skin - the one that is visible. It covers the entire body, from the head down to the feet. The epidermis itself consists of 3 layers and is made up of tightly-woven connective tissues of varying thickness. For example, the skin covering your feet is much thicker than that below the eye. The epidermis acts like a barrier, keeping the good in and the bad out.

The top layer of the epidermis is constantly being shed. It's the layer that acts as the gatekeeper keeping fluids in and dangers out. Although not easily visible, most of this layer is covered with thousands of tiny pores and hair shafts. New skin is continually being generated by the bottom layer to replace the skin that has been shed. The epidermis also contains melanin, the cells responsible for skin pigmentation (coloring) and protecting against the sun's damaging rays.

Dermis

This layer of connective tissue tucked in between the innermost and outermost layers is the site of much activity. The dermis is home to blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerve tissue, hair follicles, bundles of collagen and sweat glands. Much activity happens in the middle layer. Blood vessels supply nutrients. Nerve tissues give skin the ability to feel. And the muscle tissues in this layer when they are activated are what cause a person to develop goose bumps in response to cold or fear. This layer also has the ability to trap bacteria that manages to penetrate the epidermis.

Hypodermis or subcutis layer

The innermost layer of skin helps to regulate our body temperature. It is here that insulating fat and collagen can be found which is why this layer helps keep us warm. This layer also acts as a cushion or shock absorber, protecting the body from injury. The connective tissue that makes up this important layer is also known as adipose tissue.

Skin is a very interesting part of our human body.  It is sensitive to even the lightest tickle of a feather, but can stomp across a room without hesitation.  The nerve ending in our skin cells tell our brain how tightly or how loosely we need to grip anything, from a glass of milk to a surgeon's scalpel.  Without those nerve endings we might squeeze that glass so hard it shatters, or drop everything we try to grasp because we're not holding it tight enough.  Sweat glands in the skin's layers keep us cool when it's hot outside and that layer of fat that many wish they could reduce helps keep us warm in the winter.  Indeed, skin is a very important and downright interesting part of the human body!

SKIN PIGMENT

Unfortunately today people probably give skin color much more attention than it needs. The tendency to judge people based on the color of their skin, whether for the good or the bad, is still prevalent in some areas and some cultures. But what really is skin color? What causes people to have different skin color, whether it's enough to refer to someone as being from a different race or the many shades and tones of skin we notice even within the same race and the same family? Why is skin like this, and is it important at all in the skin's function?

Skin pigment or melanin is what causes persons to have different tones and shades of skin color. The word "pigment" refers simply to color and is used to describe not just skin color but anything that has color and tones. Artists will mix different shades of a paint to get just the right pigment. Various degrees of pigment is what gives one color its different shades; think of the color red, where there is what we call fire engine red, berry red, crimson red, and so on. The amount of pigment in each shade is what gives it a unique look.

Melanin comes in two types: pheomelanin (red) and eumelanin (dark brown to nearly black). The amount you have of each type is determined by your genes, from your father and your mother equally.

Understanding that we all have red and brown pigment in our skin and that our actual skin color is just going to be a mix of these colors in varying degrees, we get a better understanding of how different skin colors are present. Someone with very pale skin has a small amount of eumelanin, or the dark brown pigment; someone that is very ruddy in skin tone will have a higher concentration of the pheomelanin or red pigment, and of course all the different shades and tones in between.

How concentrated our skin pigment is also has a lot to do with our skin's shade. Think of pennies scattered on a light-colored table. If they are far apart you can see much of that white through them. Push them closer together, and you can see less of that white color. Push them so close together that they're touching and you see virtually none of that table. So it is with pigment; having a higher concentration of these colors means that they're pushed further together and the skin is darker.

A person of Native American descent will have a higher concentration of the pheomelanin and have this pigment closer together, giving him or her a more red tone to the skin, whereas a person of Irish descent may have a red tone to the skin but the pigment is further apart so he or she will typically look a bit more pale.

Obviously this is just a very basic explanation of skin's color and tone, but it gives you a good idea of how people that are even closely related can have different skin tones, and why there is such as difference in skin color in people all around the world. Just like there is a wide variety of hair color and eye color, so there is a wide variety of skin color and shades as well.

FINGERPRINTS AND SUCH

Our skin does much more than just keep our innards on the inside. On our hands and feet our skin enables us to grip so that we can touch and pick up things and to walk. We are able to do this because of ridges in the skin called fingerprints and footprints.

Think of your skin as like smooth glass; without these ridges of course you couldn't pick up anything and would probably slide across the floor like ice skating.

Your fingerprints are unique to you, as you probably already know. They are a combination of whorls and ridges, and this combination is what makes them unique.

You may not have given your fingerprints and footprints that much thought, as few people do (unless of course they're planning a big bank heist and need to keep their identity a secret!). But imagine everything they do all day that involves touch. Without your fingerprints you couldn't hold your toothbrush or hairbrush or your coffee cup. Driving your car would be nearly impossible, as would virtually anything else.

Like so many other things, you may not give these things much thought, but your skin is very complicated and very important part of your everyday activities.

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