Skin 101: The Anatomy of Skin

This post is all about the anatomy of skin, or to be more specific the epidermis and dermis ... Insert excited jazz hands here!

I know, I know boring....

There is no hiding the fact that this isn't exactly a sexy subject, and on a normal day is likely to send you into a snooze fest, but if you are serious about sorting out your skin it's fundamental, so listen up

I suggest grabbing some tea and  bickies and then settling down for what is hopefully a helpful skin read

Epidermis

What is it?

Epidermis = Top layer of skin

What does it do?

The outermost layer of your skin, it's your body's first defence against intruders i.e germs, the elements, bacteria etc. providing essential support to your immune system

The bottom layer of your epidermis produces melanin which gives your skin it's colour and also protects you from the harmful rays of the sun. For example when it's sunny, as your skin gets exposed to the UV rays, your melanin gets activated and produces a tan to protect your skin from being damaged by the suns rays

It has 5 layers of cells and millions of cells per square inch. It's also constantly producing new cells on a daily basis. These cells are created and move from the lowest layer to the top layer were they then flatten out and eventually die ( it's where the phrase dead skin cells comes from)

Why should you care?

Your epidermis acts as your face to the world. It's what you present to the world on a daily basis. If it's clear and blemish free, you most likely would like to keep it that way, and if it's not you most likely would like to get it to that clear state.

Remember those cells we talked about earlier? Well the surface of your skin is made up of those dead skin cells. They play a big part in making your skin look dull, clogged and lifeless. They can also build around your pores and exaggerate them, making them appear even larger

What can you do to help your skin

Let's talk about skin: The functions of skin

Do you ever wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and think oh 'h to the no’! We'll that was me a month ago when I woke up to discover some mammoth spots on my face. The spots had also clearly invited some of their friends to play in the form of uneven skin tone, clogged pores and bumpy surface.

Skin, and more specifically my issue with my skin, plus my breakouts and scarring is a topic I have touched on here in the past. More recently I talked about my hyperpigmentation in this post, which so many of you seemed to resonate with.

I was really fired up after that post and determined to start my journey. One week later I was armed and ready, and 3 days after that I had a serious reaction to a product that left me needing to take a course of antihistamines, loads of omega 3 fish oils and to go on the Dr Perricone 3 day diet, which consisted of mainly salmon, berries and salad. It calmed my skin down after a few days but left me terrified to use anything for a while. Just when I thought my skin was returning to normal is when I woke up and discovered my skin looked like a bit of a hot mess and needed to be sorted out.

Skin is such a touchy subject, especially when you don't feel that you have the best of skins. No matter how much we try to shy away from it, our image or our perception of our image plays a big part in how we feel and can dictate and define our mood, confidence etc. We all have to show our skin (especially our faces) to the world everyday and let's face it even the least vain of us would always like to put a clear and smooth face forward.

So I decided that enough is enough!

Rather than putting a plaster on a wound that really needs stitches, or in this case rushing out to purchase more lotions and potions, I took a step back and did what I should have done a very long time ago. I decided I needed to learn.