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Skin Anatomy
Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It is about 15 % of your total body weight and has a surface area of about 2m². Its thickness varies from about 5mm on the soles of your feet to about 0.5mm on your eyelids.
Your skin consists of two main layers, the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.
Cells on the surface of your epidermis rub and flake off and are continuously replaced with new ones. After about a thirty day cycle, your body has produced a totally new epidermis. In the deeper layers of your epidermis cells are continually dividing to make new ones and being pushed towards the surface of your skin. Finally they die and become filled with keratin. This keratin surface provides your body with protection, helps stop infection and stops dehydration.
Your dermis or inner skin layer is made up of collagen, blood vessels, elastic fibres, sensory nerves, hair follicles and oil and sweat glands.
Your skin is a main player in your body’s temperature regulatory system. When you need to cool down your blood vessels dilate and allow heat to dissipate through your skin. You start sweating, as the sweat evaporates it uses the heat in your skin to aid the evaporation process and you cool down. The hairs on your skin lay flat allowing cooler air to circulate closer to your skin. When you are cold and need to retain heat the opposite happens your blood vessels narrow, you produce less sweat and your hairs stand up on end to trap warm air around your body.
Your skin dictates the colour of your body. It contains specialised cells called melanocytes that produce melanin. This is a brown substance that helps to absorb some of the Sun's ultraviolet rays. Fair-skinned people only have melanin in the lower layers of their epidermis. People with dark skin have larger amounts of melanin in all layers. Freckles and moles are patches of skin with more melanin than in the surrounding area.
As you age, the number of collagen and elastic fibres in your dermis decreases. In addition to this you lose fat from the tissue under your skin. As a result, your skin becomes less elastic and begins to sag and wrinkles and creases appear. This process is accelerated by sun exposure and other factors such as smoking. It can be de-accelerated by appropriate skin care and lifestyle management.