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Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Untold Truths About Skin Care

The way you look depends on how healthy your skin is. And many skin problems are due to nothing more than a lack of understanding of the skin and the forces that affect it. Your skin is divided into two compartments. The protective epidermis is on top; it's separated from the nourishing dermis below by what's called the basement membrane. As you read this article, the bottom layer of your epidermis is rapidly manufacturing new cells. They'll make their debut on the surface your flesh as soon as the intervening layers are rubbed, washed, burned, or scaled away. The normal transit from the basement membrane to surface level is 364 hours, a shade over fifteen days.

These cells start life swollen with moisture, gradually flattening as they progress toward the surface. Many skin diseases are related to this transit schedule. For instance, the "heartbreak of psoriasis" (that awful scaling of the skin) witnesses cells that have a transit ten times the normal speed. Dandruff is another case of too-rapid cell transit and is just mild psoriasis of the scalp. The epidermis is primarily a protective layer against the world. Most of the skin's chemical work is done in the dermis, with one major exception: the melanocytes. These are the cells that produce the protein melanin that gives skin its pigment.

The dermis is an entirely different matter. It is packed with appendages such as oil glands, hair follicles, blood vessels, nerve tissue, sweat glands, and such exotica as fibroblasts. These latter, when you're under stress, may turn magically into entities called histiocytes, which are first-line defenders against the intrusion of any foreign matter. Fibroblasts also may (or may not, it's an open question) produce collagen, a protein that is the major building block of the dermis. Collagen and elastin, another protein substance, give the skin its tone and suppleness.

The dermis is intimately involved with the bloodstream since the blood vessels that feed the skin are located there. The capillaries in the dermis carry more than just food. They are the conduits for acnegenic (acne-causing) and pustular-causing medicines and substances, whose symptoms begin in the dermis.

Taken together, the dermis and epidermis do not form a simple web. Each part of the body has its requirements vis-a-vis oil glands, nerve sensors, and so on, so the overall composition of the skin varies considerably from nose to knee. On the other hand, any successful skin care program must individually consider both compartments and their separate needs and reactions.

You look the way you do (complexion-wise) for several not-very-mysterious reasons. For instance, genetics. If your mother had acne, you probably do too. The same goes for more serious things like skin cancer. This is summed up in a concept called "end organ sensitivity." In the case of acne, the end organ whose sensitivity matters is the oil gland. If yours are too sensitive to whatever is in your bloodstream, they will be stimulated to excessive oil production. Result: a high incidence of oil occlusion (clogged pores) and attendant acne. Another person with a lower end organ sensitivity level could tolerate the same blood level of hormones or acnegenic substances and not produce excess oil or have acne.

Besides genetics, the climate in which you live will play a big part in the way you look. People who live in warm places inevitably get much more sun exposure. Fair-haired, blue-eyed people living in tropical environments, like many Australians, have a higher incidence of sun-related diseases such as skin cancer and malignant melanoma (dark blotching).

Often your occupation or lifestyle might bring you into unusual contact with the weather, water, or chemicals. These things plus the detergents, cosmetics, and soaps of daily living all help determine your appearance. In most cases though, the overall quality of your life plays the biggest part. Increased sex, humorously held to be a sure cure for acne, usually accompanies a more easeful and relaxed life. Sex itself doesn't cure pimples, but as your overall life improves, so is the quality of your skin.

Even though every one of us has our tolerance levels and susceptibilities, we can all be said to fall into one of the three following skin categories: oily, dry, and normal. How each of us can best improve our in is determined by, first, accurately diagnosing ourselves. Look in the mirror, and consider. Acne, for example, is a clear signal of over-oiliness, particularly if it’s seasonal. The classic syndrome is acne in the winter that clears up in the summer. The clear-up is often due to sun exposure, which encourages peeling. The peeling takes off the oil plugs that clog the oil glands along with the top layer of skin. And when the pores are opened, the risk of inflammation by trapped fatty acids is dramatically reduced.

You can give yourself a simple test for oiliness. In the morning, before washing or showering, wipe a strip of brown paper of the sort used in supermarket bags back and forth across your forehead. If there's enough sebaceous oil on your skin to make the paper translucent, you could be too oily.

Perhaps you suffer from winter itch (xerosis, in medical parlance), that condition of rashes worse in the creases of elbows, knees, and eyes. Perhaps you just suffer from uncomfortable dryness or get little dry patches on your body. These are common symptoms of skin that are unnaturally dry.

What's important here is to understand that proper care of the skin rests on choosing between distinctly different daily skin care regimens for each type of epidermis, with appropriate recommendations on soaps, astringents, shampoos (since hair condition and complexion are affected by the same factors), and cosmetics. After that, there's a short discussion of helpful hints on the care of the dermis.

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