by SkinExpert on May 26, 2009
You might not think of your skin as an organ, but it is. In fact, it is the largest organ of all. You might be surprised to know how much the skin really does for us. The skin serves many purposes. It helps to keep your body from losing too much water. It serves as a barrier to help protect you from infections and bacteria that try to enter the body. Blood vessels, hair follicles and nerves are all embedded with your skin. You skin even works for your other organs as a layer of protection.
Your skin is very sensitive to stimuli since it is filled with nerve endings. Cells from the lower layers of the skin make their way to the epidermis which is the site ot dead cell expulsion. Your skin renews each self about every thirty days.
There are three layers to your skin including the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous layer. The outer layer of your skin, the epidermis, has three of its own small layers. The epidermis contains Keratin, Langerhans and Melanocytes. The color and shade of your skin is determined by the amount melanin in your skin. Lagnerhands are actually a component of the immune system helping to shield the body from entry of infection.
As your grower older in years, you will see changes in the epidermis and other layers of skin. It becomes more difficult for the cells in your skin to divide and renew themselves each month. The dead cells are not released from the epidermis with as much speed as when you were younger. Your body will start to produce melanin with age. This is why there are aging spots (most often brown). Your skin will look older and more rugged as the function of the epidermis decreases.
The next layer of your skin is know as the dermis. This is the main core of your skin. The dermis is responsible for the elasticity of your skin. There is collagen, proteins, blood vessels, sweat glands, hair follicles and nerves within the dermal layer. With age, your skin will lose some of its elasticity. It becomes more difficult for your body to retain moisture for the skin, which is why you will notice dryer skin with age.
by SkinExpert on May 26, 2009
The three levels of skin include the outmost epidermis layer, the dermis center layer and the subcutaneous. The innermost layer is the subcutaneous. This is the layer of your skin that holds fat in the tissues. The fat makes it possible to prevent your body from getting too overheated. The subcutaneous layer helps to protect your body from the cold. This is one of the reasons why some fat is needed in your body.
Blood vessels enter into the subcutaneous layer from the dermis. There are sweat glands, never endings an d hair follicles in the subcutaneous. This layer of your skin provides a protective layer for your organs. It is able to help reduce risk of injury to your organs. It is also responsible for nourishing the other two layers of the skin. If you start to have problems in your subcutaneous layer, your other layers could suffer as well.
If you have more fat content in your body, then your subcutaneous layer will be thicker than someone who is more lean. You might go through times in your life when you have more fat cells in this layer. However, in most cases you will see a decline in the amount of fat in this layer as you age. As your subcutaneous layer starts to lose fat, you will notice more sagging in your skin. There is often not much you can do about the sagging skin.
You need to have an idea of the structure of your skin so that you know what to expect as your age. Having some knowledge of the skin also helps arm you with the knowledge you need to help protect and renew your skin. Making certain not to spend much too much time in the sun can help to product your skin. The same is true for living a life with exercise, a good diet and not smoking.
There are also skin care products on the market that can help to protect your skin. Some skin care products can help to lessen the apparent effects of aging. You will want to use different products on your skin depending on weather it is oily or is dry. There are products available to help you reduce wrinkles, remove some of the damage of years of exposure to the sun and even improve the overall health of your skin. It might be necessary to try more than one product so that you can locate the one that works for you.
