Skin -- What Is It?

     When I was 10 I ran across the book "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron in some random bookcase in my house. Naturally, I picked it up and skimmed through it, pretending to be a mature adult. I never made it through the whole book, but from what I read, Ephron was talking about how although she could put on makeup and use anti-wrinkle creams on her face, there was always a tell-tale sign of her age that we often forget about: our necks. Ephron went further into talking about sleepless nights, the lack of moisturizer or sun-tan lotion, and the bad habits she grew up with for skin care. All these comments had a big affect on my perspective of skin and its importance. Ever since, I've been interested in how the skin works and its appearance.

     Fast forward a couple years and there I am, an acne-prone teen who will do just about anything to clean up her skin. This included repeated washing, scrubbing, rubbing, popping -- you name it, I did it. Eventually, and I mean a long eventually here, I decided to figure out things I can do to prevent breakouts instead of just treating them as they come. This period of my life should have come with its own label: "WARNING: Excessive Googling Ahead!" Although a lot of nonsense came from my googling, a lot of good came from it too -- once I knew what to look for, that is. It took me until my freshman year of college to really be able to discern good, reputable sources from ones I shouldn't listen to. And let me tell you, it's not as easy as you'd think. So, that's why I'm here now -- to be a reputable source so you don't have to go into the wilderness that is the internet all alone. We twenty-something's have to stick together, you know?

     So let's start with defining what the skin is, and how it differs throughout your body. I mean, it's the largest, and by the far the most noticeable, organ in our body -- we should probably have a basic understanding in order to care for it, right? Well to start off, there are three layers to your skin: the epidermis, or the top layer, the dermis, or the middle layer, and the lowest layer which is subcutaneous fat. The epidermis is the outermost layer of your skin that is visible to us, meaning that it protects your inner organs from the outside world as well as taking care of the production of new skin cells when you shed old layers. Meanwhile, the dermis is a thick middle layer where most of the action happens connecting your skin to your inner organs. This is where things like your blood vessels, hair follicles, sweat glands, and all your nerve endings are located -- AKA how you feel temperature, pressure, or rubbing. The subcutaneous fat is mostly there to connect your organs to your bones or muscles and to further link your skin to the rest of your body via blood vessels and your nervous system.

     Now that we understand what skin is, how does it differ from one part of your body to another? As we all know, the skin on our face is just a bit different from the skin, say, on the bottom of our feet. So why is this and what is it that makes it different? Well, the skin on the bottom of your hands and feet is much thicker due to higher amounts of keratin -- a strong, fibrous protein -- and a thicker layer of subcutaneous fat, making our skin much more resistant to all the wear and tear our hands and feet experience when we pick things up or walk. The skin on our hands and feet also have a lot more nerve endings, making the skin more sensitive to the temperature and texture of things in our environment. Lastly, you may notice that the skin on the pads of your hands and feet have no hair. This is mainly due to the fact that hair is unable to grow from this thicker subcutaneous fat layer. If you think about it though, this makes perfect sense. Just imagine picking things up or walking on a smooth surface with hairy hands and feet -- you would easily lose your grip. I don't know about you, but I definitely don't need any help being clumsy, so our hairless skin clearly comes in "handy"! (Yes, that pun was intended.)

     On the other end of the spectrum is the skin on your face and chest. Noticeably, this skin has a thinner layer of subcutaneous fat than the skin on other parts of your body. This causes the skin on your face and neck to be more sensitive to wrinkling. However, keep in mind that the skin around your eyes and on your eyelids is the thinnest of all, and thus why those adorable little crows feet are often the first wrinkles to rear their ugly heads. Another difference between the skin on your face and upper body is that there are more sebaceous glands, which secrete oil to help maintain skin elasticity. While sebaceous glands are present throughout the skin besides the hands and feet, they are in higher concentration on your face, chest, and upper back. This is why it is more common for people to have acne in these areas than on other parts of the body. When the pores get plugged up by dead skin cells or other contaminants throughout your day, the sebaceous glands still release oil into the pore. This causes a build up of fats in your skin, resulting in pimples, blackheads, cystic acne, etc.

     The skin throughout the rest of your body is generally an intermediate of the two extremes, with a moderate layer of subcutaneous fat, few sebaceous glands, and hair follicles throughout. This skin is generally easier to care for than the skin on your face or your neck and is less likely to become rough like the skin on your hands and your feet.

     So now you have a thorough understanding of the largest organ on your body, the skin. If you'd like to read more, feel free to read the references linked throughout the post, or if you have questions, just leave me a comment -- I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading!