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The skin – what is made of?

Human skin is one of the most elastic, sensitive and durable products on earth. The skin covering your body is the largest of you organs. Yes, science classifies it as an organ. If you could take it off and spread it out,it would cover about 20 square feet!

All Human skin is made in three layers. The outermost layer is the epidermis. Next comes the dermis and the innermost layer is called the hypodermis

Information: The Epidermis

When you look in the mirror or run you hand across your skin, interesting is that the epidermis itself is made up of different layers of cells.

First there is keratin. Keratin is a protein that is hard. It is what keeps your skin from getting water logged when you put your hands in water or go for a swim. The other major cells in the epidermis are called Melanocyters. The melanocyters produce the melatonin which is what gives your skin pigmentation (color).

Your epidermis sheds dead skin cells. The cells in your skin move to the surface (the epidermis). They die and slough off. Sometimes you might see small flakes of skin cells on your bedding or on a dark piece of clothing that was next to your skin all day.

By the time you have reached age 70, you will have shed some 40 pounds of skin cells. John. J Medina, the author of The Clock of Ages notes that 75% of human household dust is dead skin cells!

What is most important to remember about the epidermis is that it is made up of proteins: Keratin, which makes it waterproof, and melanocyters which affects your skin color.

The Dermis

The layer under the epidermis is called the dermis. This layer is what gives your skins its ability to stretch, to be elastic (return to place after stretching) and to remain strong.

Your dermis contains the proteins collagen and elastin. Collagen gives your skin its strength and form. Elastinare the proteins that give your skin its elasticity.

To review: Your epidermis provides your individual skin color and it makes your skin waterproof. Your dermis which is the next layer down, gives your skin its elasticity and its strength. You can pinch your skin and it will not fall off. And it will return to its original shape when you stop pinching it.

The Hypodermis

The third and last layer of your skin is called the hypodermis. Your hypodermis is composed mostly of fat cells. They act as a sort of anchor for the rest of your skin layers. Your hypodermis also includes nerve fibers that allow your skin to be so sensitive to touch.

Fibres from your dermis (the second layer) extend down through your hypodermis and attach to your muscles and blood vessels. And so your skin stays attached to the rest of your body.

Sweat glands. In addition to the proteins, there are sweat glands, hair folicies and sebaceous glands through out the three layers of your skin. Their purpose is to bring oils to the surface of your skin.

So what about Aging and Anti-aging skin?

As we age there are changes to these three layers of skin and these changes can affect our appearance.

The epidermis. As we grow older the rate at which old cells are sloughed off and replaced by newer cells slows down. We begin to lose some skin tissue. And the new cells coming to the epidermis are a bit more irregular or uneven. Result? Our skin develops small creases and wrinkles!. If you wish to read more about this go to Anti-aging skin: Epidermis .
The dermis. As we grow older collagen proteins are replaced more slowly. As a result our skin ‘stiffens’ a bit. It loses some flexibility. Also our elastin fibers become more brittle. This means that our skin loses its ability to move smoothly with movements of our arms and legs. It is slower to return to place. It sags!. To read more go to: Anti-aging skin: dermis
The third layer, the hypodermis also undergoes changes. The amount of our fat tissue in this layer decreases. But the loss of fat tissue is not uniform. As a result the fibers connecting to the muscles below are not as stable as they used to be. This instability coupled with a reduction in overall muscle mass that often occurs with age, makes for even greater sagging. See: Anti-aging skin: Hypodermis
Finally there are changes in our sweat glands and sebaceous glands. They slow down and so there is less moisture brought to the surface of the skin and less oil.We develop drier skin. It become more brittle and is more easily subject to scrapes. And as the number of fat cells in the hypodermis decrease and there are changes in the collagen and elastin of the dermis, the shape of our faces begin to change. Our cheeks appear a bit more sunken, our foreheads a bit more wrinkled, the skin under our eyes sags and forms ‘bags’ and our chin becomes a bit less pointy.

Scientists have found that there are a number of things that you can do to slow the process of aging skin. You can retain youthful skin well into your nineties. And if you have neglected good skin care, there are a number of things you can do now to reverse aging skin.

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Hypodermis aging

Hypodermis aging affects the very structure of your face and body. This this third and deepest layer of your skin is mostly made up of fat tissue and fibrous bands that anchor your skin to the deep fascia. It also nourishes the dermis through connecting blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and hair follicles. This deepest layer of your skin anchors your skin to the inner parts of your body. It has nerves, some important glands and fine sheets of muscle.

Since this deepest layer of skin supports and nourishes the two other layers, changes in this layer account for many of the typical signs of facial and body aging.

Hypodermis aging is marked by the loss of fat tissues. This loss affects the shape of your face and hands. There can be a sagging of the skin on the face, neck and hands. Your cheeks and eye sockets may become hallow and the skin on your neck, arms and hands may lose its firmness.

Is there anything to slow or reverse this process?

Although changes in the deepest level of our skin do affect the ‘look of aging’ the cosmetic industry has no way of treating this skin layer. Any treatment would need to be done by a qualified dermatologist and even there, there are not too many options.

True there are surgical treatments such as face lifts that affect surface appearance. These treatments may tighten the skin but they do not really add substance to diminishing fat tissue or fibrous bands.

In reviewing the research published in scientific journals I found a few studies that may offer ideas if you are going to consult a dermatologsit:

1. In April 2008, the journal Dermatological Surgery Published a study done at the University of Alberta in Canada.

Researchers used soft tissue fillers to rejuvenate hands that had developed hallowing from aging. As noted above hypodermis aging can affect the shape and plumpness of hands and face. The researchers concluded that hyaluronic acid proved to be superior in efficacy to collagen as a filler to restore the shape of hands.

2. In addition there are a number of dermatologists who use injectable soft tissue fillers or botulism toxin Type A for the face. These are considered minimally invasive and were among the most commonly performed cosmetic procedures in the United States in 2006.

3.An article in Facial Plast Surg. May, 2006 concluded that “when used individually or in combination,(these agents) can effectively decrease rhytids and restore lost volume. The result is a fuller, smoother, more youthful appearance.

If you are going to consult with a dermatologist about any aspect of treatment for this third and deepest level of your skin, be sure to choose someone with experience – especially if you are going to undergo a surgical procedure. Questions such as: How long have you been doing this procedure? How many of these procedures have you done in the last year? are important.

Surgery, like any skill is perfected with practice. You want to trust your face only to a very experienced surgeon.