Do You Know Your Skin?

Do You Know Your Skin?

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Do you understand your skin? Why it feels the way it does? Why it has breakouts, redness, pigmentation & signs of ageing?

If you don’t, that’s perfectly fine! But when you start to learn about some skin fundamentals, plus how and why it functions and you begin to incorporate this new found knowledge into your daily routines, you’ll notice that your skin will change rapidly to do what it does best, and to look it’s best. So, let’s start breaking down all things skin, so that you can give yours the best of what it needs, no matter what moment it’s experiencing.

THE BASICS

I’m sure most of you are aware that the skin is the largest organ in the human body. Therefore, everything that comes in, out and that is around our body is having an impact on the skin, and (most importantly) under the skin. So, here is a simple break-down of how the skin works, and a few key ingredients that would benefit your skin – no matter what your skin ‘type’. Of course, the skin is a very complex topic to tackle, so this overview will be focusing on the elements that you would be familiar with, plus a little extra without going into too much science.

THE LAYERS

Epidermis

The Epidermis is a thin, protective layer of cells that contain no blood vessels and consists of five layers of cells with no divisions between them. Without going into the hardcore science of it all, the ones you would be familiar with are the Stratum Corneum, which is the skin we can see, and the Stratum Lucidum which is only found on the soles of hands and feet. The Epidermis is designed to provide protection to the deeper layers and functionality of the skin and is responsible for the appearance, colour and texture that we can see and feel.

Dermis

Is the most important element to understand. Why? Well because it supports the Epidermis and consists of a complex network that without care (through diet, protection, nutrients) will degrade rapidly. The Dermis consists of a complex network of loose connective tissue, blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerve endings. Some key elements of the Epidermis are your Fibroblasts (responsible for the production of collagen – and more!) and then Collagen and Elastin; the proteins responsible for elasticity, tone and texture.

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE SKIN

Some of the key functions of the skin are to protect (from both intrinsic and extrinsic ageing factors), retain fluid/avoid fluid loss and thermoregulate. The general public has been educated to treat surface issues such as wrinkles and other visual imperfections of skin conditions. However, it is important to realise that if the dermal tissue isn’t healthy, then no matter what we do on the surface of the skin (epidermis) the skin itself will not be functioning at its best. Each cell has a turn over period, and as we age this turnover period slows, just as when we are younger it is at a quicker pace. Think of it like you do metabolism with your body. The expectancy is that for each cell that is near its ending cell turnover period, we want to ensure that the cells coming up (to replace those that are finishing their journey) are plump and healthy.

With that being said, it’s important to make sure that the ingredients you’re placing on your skin are well formulated to let the skin breathe and do its job, as well as ensuring that they can penetrate down to where we need the skin to use them to protect, restore and maintain healthy cells.

I hope this little overview helps in your quest for you beautiful, healthy and optimally functioning skin. The biggest issues to be aware of is how you treat your body, and therefore your skin. Factors such as your extrinsic influences that bring about oxidative damage like sun damage and UV overexposure, tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs & a high sugar based diet, plus your general lifestyle – hello stress! – these all add up and over time take a damaging toll on our body and how much harder it has to work to keep it in tip top shape & give us the youthful radiance we are all so desperately seeking.

If you are interested in learning more about your skin functionality, and how and why your skin is the way that it is or you’re keen to start treating it and feeding it what it needs to give you a gorgeous glow, then I really do recommend that you visit a skin clinic and chat with the team there to get on track with a skin management plan. They’d love (LOVE!) to see you, and I know that whoever and wherever they are they’ll be sure to put you on the right path to your best skin.

Blog post lovingly provided by Sammy O’Connell @thecoolcalmcollected

 

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