Basic skin info

I want to chat a little about the skin as I believe as women we don’t know enough about what’s really going on underneath that surface and once we know this I will start chatting about some key ingredients/products that we should all be using to maintain a healthy skin for all ages.
So the skin aka Integumentary system is made up of 3 main layers (I’m not going to be too scientific so you can all follow and understand, I think that’s most important!)
1st layer is the Epidermis.

This layer Is actually made up of 5 layers, the epidermis is what we do need to understand as this is what is mainly affected when using cosmetics/cosmeceuticals at home. What is the difference between a cosmetic and a cosmeceutical, you may be thinking. So a cosmetic simply treats the outer most layers of the epidermis and doesn’t have the science, strength or ingredients that penetrate any further really, they’re to nourish and maintain the outer layers of the skin only. Whereas a cosmeceutical, the name Is a mix of cosmetic and pharmaceutical, is made to penetrate deep Into the epidermis and sometimes even the dermis they are much more active and can affect the functioning of the skin and not just the feeling, then you have a pharmaceutical which can penetrate the blood stream and needs to be recommended by a doctor or chemist.
As experienced beauty therapists, we can recommend cosmeceuticals but not pharmaceuticals 😊 (hope that clarified that for you guys wondering)
Back to the Epidermis. So although this is classified as one layer the epidermis is in fact made up of 5 separate layers and each of those layers has a purpose. The first layer starting from the bottom is our basal layer aka stratum germInativum. In this layer there are nice, fat, juicy healthy cells which are constantly separating to push the cells to the surface of the skin to eventually reach the surface and be pushed off or out and this is how our body naturally exfoliates itself. Now, as we age this separating slows down, this Is why you should exfoliate once or twice a week, depending on your skin type and age, this is also were the skin pigment is located (melanin). So when we go into the sun these cells are activated to go and protect each cell, they are a brown colour to protect the cell from sun damage and that’s why a tan is unhealthy as it’s the body protecting itself from damage to the cells.
The next layer of the epidermis is the stratum spinosum. The cells are being pushed up through this layer, they are multiplying in the basal layer then are pushed up through this layer and Immune cells live here (Langerhans cells, the white cells we spoke about in my blind pimple post 😉)
Stratum granulosum, our cells begin to dry out and die as they are getting further away from nutrients and closer to being sloughed off by the new cells pushing up, waterproofing lipids are in this layer to help prevent anything from penetrating the skin that shouldn’t and to keep in what should stay in.
Stratum lucidum - This layer there is not much, if any, action only consisting of dead clear cells and only present in thick skins.
Last, but not least, is the stratum corneum. This is the layer we touch, rub, scratch and moisturise. This is where the cells make It to the end and are exfoliated off, cells are flying around everywhere from this process. They say dust is mainly made up of dead skin cells eeewwww!!!
So cosmetics won’t make it past the first couple of layers of the epidermis 😊
The next two layers aren’t as complex but are much thicker. The epidermis and Its 5 layers are only as thick as a piece of paper!!!!! So a lot happening on a minute scale!
The dermis is one big layer and its where our collagen and elastin lives (the density /plumping collagen and the elastin which allows our skin to stretch) this Is also were our hair and its follicle lives. All of our nerves, blood vessels and sweat glands also your oil producing gland is in the dermis so lots of Important stuff and that’s why your epidermis needs to protect and prevent anything from making It to this layer. Finally, the subcutaneous layer which is the bottom most layer of your skin. This is mainly to store fat, it’s the nice cushioning for the skin. You may notice that the elderly bruise very easily and become quite translucent. This Is due to the loss of this layer and all layers become very thin 😢 they are the 3 main layers of the skin. I hope this helps you understand a little more about the products you are using. Look out for my next blog about the Ingredients to look out for to help maintain heathy function of this amazing organ 😘