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Look at your face in a mirror. What do you see?
At first sight your skin looks like a simple,
decorative covering for your body, but it is far more than this. For instance,
parts of it develop from the same tissues as the brain, and remain directly
connected to the brain by nerves. Skin is a vital outpost of the nervous
system and is the closest contact we have with the outside world. Our
sense of touch operates through our skin: we feel pain and changes in
temperature. The lips, which are part of the skin, are amongst the most
sensitive areas of the body.
Skin is not just a simple flat sheet, but is
composed of several skin layers. The very top skin layer is quite tough and, although
microscopically thin, is our 'hide'. It is being constantly worn down
and replaced. It plays a vital part in preventing excessive loss of moisture
from the body, and helps to give healthy skin its attractive appearance.
The deeper layers contain all the structures that give skin its strength
and elasticity, and are home to important structures like the hair roots
and sweat glands.
As we age the natural strength and elasticity
in our skin layers decline, with the result that gravity makes it sag and wrinkles
develop. Although certain skin care products make wild claims to be able
to 'restore' youth, there is no evidence that cosmetic products can prevent
this natural decline of skin elasticity - we can only help to preserve
what we have. It is mostly the damage to the deeper layers that will determine
how our skin looks as we get older, and this is largely self-inflicted
because we over-expose ourselves to the sun.
Before we can discuss how to take care of skin
we have to understand what it is and how it works.
A skin diagram: What skin looks
like
Seen from a distance, skin layers may look perfectly smooth. But what we actually
see is dependent on several factors, including the state of the very top layer, the type
and amount of pigment in the layers beneath and the state of the tissues
and the blood vessels in the deeper skin layers.
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This skin diagram shows the
complex structure of skin layers below the surface, seen here under a microscope.
As we get nearer it becomes obvious that the
skin layers are not absolutely smooth and perfect.
If we look even more closely we will see that
the surface is marked by a network of tiny furrows of variable sizes which
divide the surface into rough rectangles. These change shape during movements
of the skin. In some areas, such as the hands, movement would not be possible
without the flexibility afforded by these furrows.
Looking closely
at older skin reveals fine lines and pores.
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