Know what lies beneath your skin


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Why is Skin So Important?

Skin is the largest organ of the body and second only to the skeleton in terms of importance. Before starting on what lies beneath or inside the skin to make the right choice in choosing organic or professional skincare products, let’s first discuss what makes skin so important to make it care-worthy.
  • It is the largest organ in the body, accounting for approximately 15% of the body weight.
  • With the help of sweat glands that reside inside the skin it regulates the body temperature.
  • By sweating out excess salt or water it helps maintain water and electrolyte balance.
  • Through the sensory receptor it senses painful and pleasant stimuli.
  • It acts as a barrier against dangerous substances and stops them from entering the body.
  • It is also the shield that protects vital organs from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun.
  • The skin’s color, texture, and folds help mark people as individuals.

The skin consists of three main layers: epidermis, dermis and subcaneous tissue.
Epidermis
It is the topmost layer. Epidermis itself contains several layers:
  • Basal cell layer: It is the deepest layer of the epidermis. This layer contributes new cells to the skin.
  • Spinous cell layer: This layer resides above basal cell layer. Cells in this layer are irregular in shape.
  • Granular cell layer: This layer is above spinous cell layer.
  • Stratum corneum: It is the top layer of the epidermis. It is made up of mostly dead cells and contains a lot of keratin. This layer is is the one visible from the outside. This layer imparts a tough and waterproof character to the skin’s surface.

Epidermis is made of three types of cells:
  • Keratinocytes: These are made of keratin protein and constitute major part of epidermis.
  • Melanocytes: These cells impart skin tone and color.
  • Langerhans cells: The immune system in the epidermisr.
Dermis
This layer resides beneath epidermis and is the thickest of the skin layers. This layer is made of collagen and elastrin fibers and comprises a tight, sturdy mesh of collagen (protein for the structural support) and elastrin fibers (protein for the resilience of the skin). That’s why most anti-wrinkle organic or professional skincare products target this layer.

Some other constituents of dermis are:
  • Blood vessels: To nourish dividing cells in the basal layer and take away any waste products. These also help in regulating the skin temperature by regulating the blood flow.
  • Nerves: The sensors to make brain aware of the heat, cold, pain, pressure and touch.
  • Hair follicles: The hair factory.
  • A sebaceous gland: This gland secrets sebum, a lubricant that helps skin to be water resistant, chemical resistant and act as barrier against microorganisms.
  • Sweat glands: These glands are responsible for sweat secretion. This sweat gets evaporated leaving the body cooler. This way these glands regulate the body temperature. Also they help clear some of the waste like urea from that body.
  • Lymph nodes: These are like depots of immune cells to protect skin and by extension body from invading microorganisms.
Subcutaneous tissue
These constitute the innermost layer of the skin. It is made of adipocytes or fat cells. This layer acts a shock absorber and heat insulator. When skin loses subcutaneous tissue usually because of age skin becomes sagged and accentuated wrinkles.