The outside layer of the skin is called the Epidermis which comprises three main types of cell:
Keratinocytes (skin cells acting like tiles)
Melancocytes (melanin pigment-producing cells)
Langerhans cells (immune cells – first line of defence against invaders)
The keratinocytes form four distinct layers starting from their most immature state at the basal layer. As they accumulate keratin they migrate through to the spinous layer, then to the granular layer and finally to the outside layer – the stratum corneum (horny layer) where they become harder and dryer ‘corneocytes ‘, eventually rubbing off.
The ability to produce melanin in this layer will determine skin resilience after sun exposure because melanin is an antioxidant that helps to deflect dangerous radiation. (‘Whiter’ isn’t necessarily better!)
The epidermis also contains sweat (eccrine) glands, a tangle of tubules connecting deep from within the dermis. These glands secrete a watery ionic salt solution into a duct opening to the skin surface to cool the body. Larger apocrine sweat glands, found in the armpits and groin, also secrete this salt solution in addition to pheromones and metabolic waste products.
If the liver and kidney become overloaded the body can lighten their load by excreting wastes in perspiration. This is why saunas and balneotherapy (mineral water bathing) can greatly assist detoxification.
Underneath the epidermis is the Dermis where new cells and collagen are made, where blood can move in or out to control temperature and where wastes and invaders are removed. The different cell types include mast cells that can release histamine; vascular smooth muscle cells which allow blood vessels to dilate or contract; specialised muscle cells that can contract around sweat glands; fibroblasts that produce and deposit collagen; immune cells such as macrophages which digest and remove rubbish and debris; and transient inflammatory cells such as neutrophills, T and B lymphocytes, eosinophils and monocytes, which can kill foreign invaders.
If you get inflammation in the skin you can bet that bad bugs are trying to attack you because
your skin defence system was compromised.
The dermis is a connective supporting tissue made up mostly of collagen fibres that provide tensile strength and elastin for elasticity and pliability. These are joined together by a mucopolysaccharide gel in which nutrients and wastes can diffuse to and from other tissue components.
A gel layer as a diffusion medium is also often found at membrane barriers such as on the lining of the gut wall. Basically, the deeper into the skin layers you go the ‘juicier’ or more hydrated it gets. Water, including water as gel, is essential for nutrient transport systems which form the rivers in our body. The dermis contains nerves (the body’s messengers), blood vessels (the body’s transport rivers) and protruding connection and absorption structures from the epidermis.
If you have been overstressed, which makes magnesium and vitamin C antioxidants deficient, then synthesis of collagen (via silica, boron and vitamin K) will be compromised. This results in a thinning and dehydrated skin structure, as well as increased skin sensitivity because the nerve endings have less buffering protection. Less collagen means the skin can hold less hydration and less protective lipids, which means less nutrient transport and less waste elimination.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the skin is somehow separate from the body like an outside piece of clothing or a plastic cover and that you can apply any substances to it without consequence.
The skin is a living breathing organ:
It is the body as the outer side of it.
The Subcutis is mainly composed of fat cells (adipose tissue), nerves and blood vessels. When I say to people, “You don’t have enough fat in your skin,” they reply, “what do you mean? – I have plenty of fat!” and they proceed to pinch a roll of it around the middle, which is basically the adipose fat of the subcutis.
However that’s not the fat I meant in my comment. I was referring to the lipid levels in the epidermis, which play an extremely important role in the retention of adequate hydration and the defence of our skin.