Skin, why do we have it?

Do you know what our skin is actually there for and what it does?

Maybe you thought it held all the organs inside and formed a protective cover for them? But didn’t really do much else?

Did you know that skin is actually the largest organ in the body? yep – an organ, just like your heart or lungs! Skin is an external view of our inside health. I believe, if we have a skin condition appear overnight, we should be looking at what’s going on, on the inside (I’ll go into more detail about that in another blog).

Your skin comprises of a massive 20 square feet, and does all sorts of jobs. It is made up of different layers …

The Epidermis, containing 5 layers – Stratum Corneum, Lucidium, Granulosum, Spinosum and Germativium. The Epidermis is what you and I can see when we look at each other, it has a water-proof barrier and creates our skins colour due to the melanocyte cells that contain pigment, otherwise known as melanin. It’s also where skin conditions and concerns are visible to you and I.

Next is The Dermis, containing the reticular layer and the papillary layer. The Dermis is made up of sweat glands, sebaceous glands, hair follicles, apocrine glands, lymphatic and blood vessels, nerves, collagen and elastin fibers. This layer has it all going on and is important for removing waste and toxins in order to nourish the skins surface. 

Lastly the Subcutaneous layer, which is the deepest layer. The Subcutaneous layer is mainly fat cells and connective tissue, these fat cells insulate our body and protects our other organs and bones, we would miss it if it wasn’t there.

our skin is like a factory that is constantly working to keep all those cells flowing and desquamating (shedding).

Amazing what skin actually does isn’t it? Still amazes me everyday!!