Skin Care - Importance of Skin Care, Quality of Skin Care Products

Introduction
Your skin is the largest and one of the most important organs of your body which performs some essential functions such as protection, hydration, sensation and temperature regulation. The internal structure of your skin, however, is even more interesting. Let’s discover some of the main structural features of your own skin:

Layers of skin
Your skin is composed of two main layers, the epidermis and dermis, that both rest on the subcutaneous (underlying) tissues.

Epidermis

It is the outer (or uppermost) layer of the skin and is made up of outer dead skin cells and deeper living cells. The melanocyte (special cells) within the epidermis produces melanin giving color to the skin and helps protect it from ultraviolet light

Dermis

The dermis is found beneath the epidermis and makes up bulk (90 percent) of your skin.

Subcutaneous layer

The epidermis and dermis sit on the subcutaneous (subcutaneous = beneath the skin) layers, composed largely of fat, through which the blood vessels and nerves run. The roots of the oil and sweat glands are located here.

Glands of skin
There are two main types of glands in your skin:

Sebaceous oil glands

These are distributed throughout the skin but are mostly concentrated in the scalp, face, mid-chest, and genitals. They are attached to the hair follicles and secrete an oily substance (sebum) that lubricates and protects the skin.

Sweat glands

These glands are distributed throughout the body but their greatest number is found in the palms, soles of the feet, forehead, and underarms. They secrete at times of stress, emotion, or in the presence of a warmer environment.

Special structures of skin

Hair: Each hair grows from a single follicle that has its roots in the subcutaneous tissue] of the skin. The oil glands next to hair follicles provide gloss and, to some degree, waterproofing of the hair. Hair also contains melanin. The number of melanin granules in the hair determines its color. Malnutrition can cause damage to the hair.

Fingernails and toenails: These are part of the epidermis and are composed of the protein, keratin. Each nail grows outward from a nail root that extends back into the groove of the skin. With malnutrition, after an injury, or chemotherapy, the nail formation is impaired.

Types of skin

Depending on your family (heredity), your genetic make-up and your lifestyle, you skin can be of one of the following types:
Oily skin: Oily skin is caused by over activity of the sebaceous glands. Oily skin is thick with large pores and has a greater tendency to develop acne, but not wrinkles. Most people, who have oily skin, also have oily hair.

Dry skin: Dry skin is caused by under activity of the sebaceous glands, environmental conditions, or normal aging. Dry skin is usually thinner and more easily irritated. There is a greater tendency to develop wrinkles, but not acne.

Balanced Skin: Balanced skin is neither oily nor dry. It is smooth and has fine texture –– with few problems. However, it has a tendency to become dry as a result of environmental factors and aging

Combination Skin:  Combination skin consists of oily regions, often on the forehead and around the nose, and regions that are balanced or dry.

key functions of your skin
Protection, absorption, sensation, regulation & production

Introduction
Your skin is your body’s largest organ and it plays a vital role in maintaining your health and wellness. It’s wonderfully resilient and can survive a great deal of punishment. The skin is the body’s boundary layer, tough enough to resist all sorts of environmental assaults, yet sensitive enough to feel the slightest touch. The skin creates the first line of defense against possible invasion of bacteria and germs, while maintaining the body’s internal environment within a few degrees of normal throughout our lifetime. It also gives you ability to “sense” things. Following are the top 5 tasks or functions that your skin performs for your body and health:

1. Protection: Your skin is a unique and remarkable organ that is the outer covering of the body. Hence, your skin tries to protect you from germs that can make you sick. It also provides protection of deeper tissue from chemicals, bacteria, bumps, and drying.
2. Absorption & elimination: As the largest digestive organ of the body, the skin provides the functions of both absorption and elimination. This process can work for or against us, depending on the products we apply to the skin. Just like eating “junk food,” junk skin care products can produce negative effects. Conversely, eating a healthy organic diet and using healthy, organic skin care products as “skin food” will increase the health, beauty, and vibrancy of our skin.
3. Sensation: Our skin tells us how things feel when we touch them. For example, our skin can tell us when we are touching something dangerous (something really hot or sharp). One square inch of skin contains millions of cells as well as many specialized nerve endings for sensing heat, cold, and pain.
4. Regulation: Your skin also serves as a heat regulator; sweating when you are hot allows the water to evaporate and cool the skin. When your body is chilled, the vessels become narrowed and decrease the flow of blood through the skin to reduce heat loss.
5. Production: Your skin makes Vitamin D in response to sun exposure. Vitamin D is a crucial part of the way your body handles the essential nutrients calcium and phosphorus in your diet. As a result, it is critical to the development and maintenance of bone strength. The amount of vitamin D produced from sun exposure varies based on skin type, use of skin protection, length of sun exposure, season of the year, and time of day.

All in all, remember your skin is one of the key organs of your body that works hard for you day and night. You should, therefore, work hard to protect your skin by giving it best skin care and preventing it from various issues and problems such as acne, environment and other damages using top quality skin care products available.