Our skin is a most fascinating thing – it wears a lot and we really need to remember that, and look after it. As the body’s largest organ, our skin accounts for around 15% of the body’s weight – amazing! This image gives a very magnified and excellent view of the cross section of the epidermis (skin surface). The flaky pale brown is the stratum corneum which is the part that is visible to the eye, in effect the skin’s top protective barrier. It is made up of flattened, keratin rich cells without a nucleus. These are surrounded by a lipid lamellar bilayer, which act something like a ‘brick and mortar’ structure to both ‘waterproof’ and support skin defense. The red layer is what we refer to as your viable epidermis – living keratinocyte cells which constantly divide and push upwards, effectively sloughing off as dead skin cells and renewing your skin surface. Below this layer, and not visible here, is the connective tissue – the area which scaffolds the skin, supporting and nourishing it and where we must ensure quality products are able to reach to work their magic! Fascinating, right?
Image by ProBeauty
Recent Comments