It's a party and all of the rubber bands are invited: what is skin, how does skin function and why is it valuable to know that it’s aging?

Skin, the integumentary system, is the largest organ in the body. Although from time to time, taking proper care of skin gets devalued when socially compared to internal organs, but, our skin plays an important part of our everyday life. Our skin was designed to be strong, and provides a waterproof barrier to protect us from the environment around us. It also shells our inner organs from falling out! The skin layers, nerves, and glands, hair follicles and cellular functions all working together regulating and shelter our body. Skin type and conditions may vary amongst individuals, however ideal healthy skin is moist, soft, smooth, and has an acidic ph balance (more on PH later). Skin texture also varies from one area of the body to the next. For example our skin is thicker on the palms of her hands and soles of feet and is thinnest around the eyelids. 

To put it to plain view, each inch of skin contains approximately:

Millions of cells, 15 feet of blood vessels, 12 feet of nerves, 650 sweat glands, 100 oil glands, 65 hairs, and 1,300 nerve endings. 

So how do we take care of our skin? The basic skin care routines are cleaning, moisturizing and protecting it from UV rays by using a SPF. And that routine change over time as our skin ages. 

To truly understand the importance of promoting skin anti-aging, let's explore the skin function a bit more closely.

Let's Have a Party-- the Introverts, the Host, and the Extroverts

The layers of skin—the party

The layers of skin are compressed by three parts, the reticular layer of dermis (fatty tissue layer), the dermis, and the epidermis. Together the dermis and epidermis add up seven layers of skin -- two being in the dermis and five being in the epidermis.

The Introverts

Let's start at the bottom with the reticular (subcutaneous) layer of the dermis. This layer is the deepest in distance when measured from the surface. 

Let's imagine there’s a party going on and there are three types of groups attending the party. The reticular layer of the dermis would be the introverts. Now, don’t get me wrong, at this layer of skin, it is very much active and vital in contributing to the skin (the party) but ---not too much action is happening and some just minding their own thing. This layer helps the top dermis by providing cushion and insulates the epidermis. 

Adipose (fatty) tissues clusters in grape like formation giving the skin its cushion, contour and smoothness to the body. Sweat glands are formed and you can see the root of hair follicles and artery veins pumping red and white blood cells at this layer.

The Host with the Most Rubber Bands

As we rise north away from the fatty layer, the dermis awaits us with supplies of FOOD. 

Within the dermis, you can find more active tissues that are surrounded by sebaceous glands (which produces oil), and more live connective tissues containing blood and lymph vessels. This layer is important to your skin because it supplies nourishment (like a good host providing food at a party---sometimes, but I’m more BYOB kinda gal). As vessels pumps blood, it deliver nutrients within the plasma like oxygen and moisture to the surface of our skin. Also within this layer we find Sudoriferous (sweat) glands continuing upwards, nerves, and arrector pili muscles.

What’s important about the dermis layer is that protein fibers production like collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid gives the skin its strength, structure and elasticity. During our late 20’s we can see this layer beginning to slow down the elasticity production resulting in the droopy appearance or sagging skin and the cause of our skin sinking inward during our senior years. 

Think of the protein fibers as a rubber band, and throughout time if the skin did not have anti-aging influences, the area that had more muscle movements like frown and laugh lines as well as our eye areas starts to loses support in depth causing the appearances of wrinkles. 

Collagen is mostly important by providing plumpness and thickness to the skin’s structure. Collagen makes up 70% of the dermis and is produced by a cell called fibroblasts. Hyaluronic acid plays a key part to collagen because it lubricates fibroblasts and stimulates the creation of tubulin which assists cells through the cell cycle. This is why hyaluronic acid cosmetic products are often associated with collagen production and hydration. 

Although having collagen alone sounds just about enough to give the skin its function however just like yin and yang, healthy skin needs both collagen and elastin. 

Let's go back to our rubber band example. Here you have a nice rubber band with thick band, however you need it to move, stretch to expand and retract. Like the rubber band our skin needs mobility to move, stretch, expand and retract along with our muscles --so the next time you pull on your skin, it should bounce back. Skin elastic tissue fibers are lost more quickly when left unprotected and overexposed to the sun. (People in your late 20s and older, that drives a around a lot or works near a sunny window, have you ever notice your driving side of your face sagging a little more compared to the other side?)

 

Sunscreen or other products with anti-oxidant ingredients delay elastin tissue fibers from breaking down. This is one reason why some older tanned skin feels leathery or loosens—it’s due to overexpose of the UV rays. Smoking is another example of speeding up the skin’s aging. Smoking causes tissue around the mouth to breakdown and wrinkle more than non-smokers. Pucker up! I have my favorite shade of lip-gloss on—it’s called, My Lips is Gone with the Wrinkles.  

So bottom line: collagen= skin structure. Hyaluronic acid = collagen lubrication. Elastin tissue fiber=skin flexibility

The Extroverts

Let's check back at our party. Our introverts providing structural support to the party. Without the introverts, the party would just be unsophisticated... No backbone if you want to put it that way. The introverts add depth to the party by providing interaction that's important in support the structure of the party. Our host is busy away providing everybody with food and making sure they are well taking care and entertained. Then… Suddenly, our extroverts arrive.

The extroverts are considered the life of the party and are not afraid to really put themselves out there for the world to view (Just like our most outer skin layer, the epidermis). Let's say there are five members of this extroverts grouping.

Let's imagine this group of extroverts is the social butterflies within our party. They know everyone from each introverts and the host are vital to the existent because these extroverts depend on the other groups’ attention to survive.

Traveling pass the dermis we find our skin’s most outer layer, the epidermis, let's start at the top with Stratum corneum--our outermost layer of the epidermis. This layer main function is to help our skin hold in moisture and oil. If looked at under a microscope, this tissue paper thin layer contains scale-like cells made primarily of soft keratin called keratinocytes. Keratin is a fiber protein that provides resiliency and protection to the skin and an example of hard keratin is the protein found in our hair and nails. Although the keratin protected our skin, it is considered dead skin cells that are flatten and die as it gets punished or sloughed off continuously by new fresh skin cells rising towards the surface. This is called cell turnover. 

Ideally, in a younger person, skin turnover occurs about every 20 to 30 days, however, by the time our skin is in our late 60s the process takes about 45 to 50 days which is one of the main reasons our skin loses the freshness or youthful glow as we age. 

In the effort of making the subject fun, if the Stratum corneum took on an actual social butterfly persona, this layer would be like Regina George from the movie Mean Girl. This layer is really out there for the world to see and whether if it's behaving badly or good, it receives attention no matter what.

South of the stratum corneum, we find stratum lucidum, stratum granulosum, and stratum sprinosum. These groups of epidermis layers are important in that they support the stratum corneum layer but not much depth is significant amongst them.      

The stratum lucidum is a translucent layer only found on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet providing a barrier, while the stratum sprinosum assist in holding the cells together and stratum granulosum composed cells that resemble granules which are filled with Keratin produced intracellular lipids. These composed cells will eventually move to the surface replacing the cells shed from stratum corneum. --- Just like Gretchen, Karen and Regina George. 

Lastly, closest to our dermis, we find our stratum germinativum or also know as the basal layer of the dermis. In this layer of skin we see cell division called mitosis occuring constantly. New cells are produced, generated, and multiply to create the structure of our skin. As these fresh cells migrate towards the surface, it becomes strong and protective. 

This layer of the epidermis also contains cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes have a unique responsibility in determining a person’s skin color by producing melanin. Whether a person is born in Africa or Sweden, both individuals have the same amount of melanocytes. What is different is the amount of melanin the melanocytes produces. In theory, if our skin is exposed to harsher sunny environment our melanocytes would generate more melanin to umbrella the over exposed damage skin. However, this process takes years for the melanocytes to produce melanin, and for the melanin cells to reach the surface. 

This is where I find the biology of skin so interesting. Regardless of our ethnic in heritage, our skin just knows what it needs to protect us from our environment. For example, if your ancestors were born in Africa where the sun exposure is warmer, over the expansions of millions of years our skin genotyping just recognize that in order to survive within the environment the melanocytes in the skin would have to generate more melanin to act as an umbrella thus providing sun protection. This theory also apply for someone who ancestors thrived in an environment that lacked sun and the skins’ melanocytes did not get triggered as much when compared to its continental neighbors.

With the years of practicing skin therapy, one important fact that I stress with my clients is that, once the melanocytes are triggered in producing melanin, it's virtually impossible to stop the process. The process is our body natural way of protecting our skin from the exposed harsh UV rays environment. the dark pigmentation spots we see on our skin is our body saying, hey, this area of skin cells got too much sun, so I am sending melanin up to the surface to protect it from the UV rays. (Another type of dark pigmentation comes from hormonal triggering during pregnancy, but more on hormonal changes later.)   

To fade out freckles, unwanted pigmentation, products like potent antioxidants can be used to soften and lighten the already produced melanin and chemical peels are affected, however, the melanocytes will keep generating even if the lighting product is stopped.

Popular skin lighting peels are successful in lightning of the skin because of this fast results however, one treatment does not devoid the core problem and the peels needs to be done again over time. 

If its a fast results you want then chemicals peels like the Vi peel is a way to go, but keep in mind that it might be an annual peel you do. Or an antioxidant serum that you use everyday in your skincare routines. Or both. The key is staying committed to the method you wish to get out of the treatments.

When talking about skin care products that influence anti-aging, it's important to have ingredients that are potent enough to deliver to this layer of skin. When a good product is applied to the surface of the skin and its molecule gets delivered down to this layer, it influence in the creation of new cells. As the process of mitosis happens and anti-aging ingredients like antioxidant is applied, it influences mitosis to create healthy skin cells by replacing cells that are missing an electron that was taking by a free radical.   

Everyone's' skin type and conditions are uniquely different and by understanding our skin structure and that one product does not necessarily apply to all yet knowing skin functions is important in making a decision on what products our skin need. Keeping that in mind, this has been a basic look at skin functionality. If you have any questions please feel free to comment or e-mail.