The skin is the most readily and easily accessible organ of our human anatomy. It covers every inch of us; we are always enveloped in a cocoon of flesh — nature’s ultimate blanket! The skin is an essential aspect of one’s overall beauty. Hence, it must be well cared for. Here’s a look at skin facts you probably don’t know.
Types of Skin
Identifying what type of skin you have is the first step to knowing how to care for it properly. The five major skin types are:
- Dry skin may appear rough or flaky
- Oily skin is greasy and shiny
- Normal skin is clear, even, and not sensitive
- Sensitive skin may itch, burn, or sting after product use
- Combination skin is oily in some areas and dry in others
14 Skin Facts
How much do you really know about your skin? These fun facts about skin may surprise you!
1. Your Skin Covers 22 Square Feet
The average person’s skin covers about 22 square feet. The skin keeps external elements away from the sensitive internal environment of the body (as is expected of nature’s ultimate blanket), and it also protects sensitive internal organs.
The innermost part of the skin, the subcutaneous fat layer, acts as an absorber of mechanical shock and insulates the body against external heat and cold! Our sensitive internal organs can’t stand direct pressure from the outside environment, so the skin acts as a barrier and takes the hit.
The fat layer is also the last layer of the skin that acts as the final defense layer to help the body fight infection.
2. The Skin Sheds 200 Million Cells Every Hour
Our skin sheds itself off dead cells more regularly than you may know. Sources estimate that the average person’s skin covers about 22 square feet and daily sheds about five thousand million dead skin cells. In an hour, the skin sheds 200,000,000 cells! That’s an awful lot of skin!
The skin renews itself every 28 days. It’s constantly undergoing a growth spurt — dividing, multiplying, dying, and regenerating. Science educator Derek Muller has some pretty solid points about how most of the dust in our immediate surroundings are, in fact, dead cells.
Dead skin comprises scar tissue and cells under the epidermis called ‘keratinocytes.’ So, don’t get scared when you find sand all over your house even after cleaning it. It’s just normal skin tissue!
3. Your Skin’s Sweat Glands Eject Toxins
Exercise is good for overall health. The heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain benefit from a fit lifestyle that includes regular exercise. The skin also benefits from exercise as much as the other organs. Walking at least four miles daily can keep your skin in tip-top condition! How? By sweating.
Apocrine glands, commonly known as sweat glands in the skin’s epidermis, push toxins out of the body. The sweat glands help regulate:
- excess oil
- dead skin
- dead cells
- toxins ejected from the kidneys and liver parading in the bloodstream
- excessive buildup of skin care products on the skin’s surface.
The sweat glands are also vital in the moderation of body temperature. Having the epidermis in a constant metabolism that engages the sweat glands encourages collagen production and reduces the appearance of wrinkles will help your skin.
To sweat, you have to be involved in a high-rate physical activity. This means your blood vessels will pump and circulate oxygenated blood throughout the skin to nourish billions of tons of skin cells.
Oxygenated blood will make changes in your skin by making it adopt more than the natural sheen, but it may also make its appearance look dewy, which can be considered as improving its aesthetics.
4. The Skin Is the Body’s Largest Organ
Sources estimate that the skin accounts for about 15% of the total body weight! For the average adult, that’s 6-9 pounds. Considering that the normal skin tissue entirely covers us, it makes sense that the skin accounts for our overall body weight that much.
5. What You Eat Will Reflect on Your Skin
You are what you eat. — (paraphrase) German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach.
Did you know that your diet is vital to how your skin looks? You might want to pay attention!
Suppose you’ve consulted people with advanced expertise in skin care. In that case, they always ask for information about your diet, especially when you go to them with skin issues like acne, eczema, premature wrinkles, stress lines, or general dullness of the skin’s appearance.
In essence, a healthy diet with healthy foods will improve your skin’s appearance.
6. Water Is the Ultimate Skin Health Product
Doctors recommend drinking 6-8 cups of water daily. Your pee is the sure way to know if you’re drinking enough water. Clear pee is positive; colored means you still have a few more cups to down before the day ends.
Being hydrated:
- helps get rid of toxins in the bloodstream
- helps prevent infections in the system
- helps to prevent common skin conditions like wrinkles and acne
- reduces the risk of heart disease
- helps the body get rid of dead skin
- helps regulate blood circulation by strengthening the blood vessels
- is the ultimate skincare technique
7. Sunscreen Is a Must-have for Healthy Skin
Prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays can cause skin cancer, discoloration, sunburn, premature aging, and wrinkles, and also increase the risk of forming scar tissue on wounded skin. How, then, can you protect your skin? By the religious use of a broad-spectrum sunscreen. Sunscreen will protect the skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun.
8. The Skin Varies in Thickness
The skin’s density is not uniform. The concentration of skin cells differs according to the body’s organ and the function it executes. We have the thickest skin concentration, mostly dead skin cells, at the soles of our feet!
9. The Skin Is Triple-layered
The skin has three layers:
The outermost layer, the epidermis, provides us with our distinct skin color and is our immediate defense against infection from harmful bacteria.
The intermediate layer is the dermis, and it contains the hair follicles.
The last layer is the hypodermis, also known as the subcutaneous tissue. It’s made of connective tissues.
10. There Are Millions of Bacteria on the Skin’s Surface
There are about a billion harmless bacteria on the skin. Don’t panic! When external microbes try to attack or harm the skin, the bacteria on the skin is our first line of defense! These bacteria are known as skin flora. They’re a community of non-harmful and non-pathogenic microorganisms that live on the human skin. They benefit the skin in many ways. They prevent pathogens from settling on the skin’s surface by secreting chemicals that ward them off, secreting chemicals against them, or stimulating the skin’s immune system.
11. Smoking Is Bad for Your Skin
Smoking affects the skin condition in more ways than you may know. Weed has a direct connection to acne breakout and our overall health. It weakens the immune system’s defenses, and since the skin is an immune organ, it gets affected and compromised.
The toxins in cigarette smoke damage the skin’s elasticity by depleting collagen fibers, which will make the skin adopt a dull appearance. That also leads to acne breakouts, pimples, dull appearance of the skin, and wrinkles.
12. Moisturizing Is How to Best Care for Your Skin
Dry skin is not only physically unappealing but also dangerous! If your skin keeps breaking, it can cause permanent damage. However, applying a good moisturizer on the skin helps camouflage blemishes as it offers a slight sheen on the skin’s surface.
Picking the best moisturizer for your skin type is vital in improving overall skin health. Tip: The best moisturizers are oil-free, non-comedogenic, and allergy and dermatologist-tested.
13. The Skin Regulates Your Body’s Temperature
The skin undergoes thermoregulation to keep the internal temperature at its strict temperature range of 36-37°c. It does this in two ways:
- It allows a person to sweat in hot weather. As the sweat evaporates, it cools down the body.
- Also, the skin contains blood capillaries that can expand. In cold weather, when the body temperature decreases, they contract and go deeper inside the skin. This lessens heat loss through the blood supply and regulates the body’s temperature.
14. The Skin’s Favorite Food Is Exfoliation
Although the average person’s skin renews itself every 28 days, that natural rejuvenation process is not enough to make changes in your skin. That’s why exfoliation is necessary. It helps to remove dead skin cells and makes the body soft and smooth.
Final Words
The skin is the body’s largest organ and plays a massive role in overall beauty and appearance. Taking care of your skin is essential to maintaining a youthful and radiant complexion.
