THE SKIN
Before we look at anything else There are several things that we need to take a look at here. As promised, I am not going to bore you to death with all the technical terms. I will do my best to not confuse you. The easiest way for you to understand this is that there are three major levels to the skin. Epidermis, Dermis and your Hypodermis. Epidermis is your outter skin. Your Dermis, the middle layer is where you are going to find blood and
lymph vessels, hair follicles and sweat glands and sebaceous glands.
(the glands that produce oil) Your nerves and sensitivity to hot and
cold occur at this level too. It is also where the production of the
protein of collagen and elastin happens. It is the stuff that keeps us
youthful, our skin plump. At the hypodermis you find fat tissues.
The focus of this post is going to be mainly on the Epidermis but it will be brief.
There are sublevels, particularly to the Epidermis. That is all I want or need you to focus on.
The focus of this post is going to be mainly on the Epidermis but it will be brief.
There are sublevels, particularly to the Epidermis. That is all I want or need you to focus on.
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
The epidermis is responsible for the look and feeling of our skin and
is also where Melanin is produced. (Melanin gives us the color of our
skin). The skin is the largest organ on your body. Cells in the epidermis are known as keratinocytes because they make a
type of protein called keratin which serves to strengthen the skin.The Epidermis consists of Five Layers:
1) The Stratum Corneum aka. The horny layer, consists of dead skin cells of mostly Kertain. ( The strongest protein in your skin that is responsible for giving your hair and nails it's strength). This layer is very important as it protects us from the environment, chemicals, UV radiation and bacteria and is very thin.
2) Stratum Lucidum aka the clear layer. It is present where the skin is the thickest such as the soles of your feet and palms of your hands. It is designed to help your body handle friction. However, we do not really need to pay much attention to this layer at this time.
3) The stratum granulosum creates a waterproof barrier between the active cells of the lower epidermis and the outer dead cells.
4) Stratum Spinosum layer has older cells moving up from the basal layer (the bottom most layer) up to form the stratum spinosum, or prickle layer. In the prickle layer cells are flatter and full of keratin. Older cells in the prickle layer are replaced and move up to form the granular layer, where they begin to lose their nuclei. By the time they have moved up through the next two layers to reach the top of the epidermis, they have become flattened dead scales.
5) The Basale layer is your very last layer. It is where new cells are born (divide). It takes 28 days for the cells to go from the Basale layer to the Corneum layer. Remember this, especially when trying a product out for the first time. It is why you should give a new product 1-2 months before deciding is effectiveness. (Unless of course you have an allergic reaction to it)
SO WHY THE LESSON?
1) The Stratum Corneum aka. The horny layer, consists of dead skin cells of mostly Kertain. ( The strongest protein in your skin that is responsible for giving your hair and nails it's strength). This layer is very important as it protects us from the environment, chemicals, UV radiation and bacteria and is very thin.
2) Stratum Lucidum aka the clear layer. It is present where the skin is the thickest such as the soles of your feet and palms of your hands. It is designed to help your body handle friction. However, we do not really need to pay much attention to this layer at this time.
3) The stratum granulosum creates a waterproof barrier between the active cells of the lower epidermis and the outer dead cells.
4) Stratum Spinosum layer has older cells moving up from the basal layer (the bottom most layer) up to form the stratum spinosum, or prickle layer. In the prickle layer cells are flatter and full of keratin. Older cells in the prickle layer are replaced and move up to form the granular layer, where they begin to lose their nuclei. By the time they have moved up through the next two layers to reach the top of the epidermis, they have become flattened dead scales.
5) The Basale layer is your very last layer. It is where new cells are born (divide). It takes 28 days for the cells to go from the Basale layer to the Corneum layer. Remember this, especially when trying a product out for the first time. It is why you should give a new product 1-2 months before deciding is effectiveness. (Unless of course you have an allergic reaction to it)
SO WHY THE LESSON?
This is a very quick run down of the basics of how the skin functions and where things can be found. It is useful for some of the things I wish to speak about. It is also good for general knowledge. For example when I speak about skin absorption and skin penetration in my next blog and mention certain layers, it's easier to understand if you know what I am referring to.
I know that was a lot! But it was all very important. Don't forget to subscribe and follow my blog so that you can get the updates as we talk further!
Enjoy, Life, Love, Liberty and always yourself.
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