Healthy Skin Askam-in-Furness

Healthy Skin

How healthy and fresh your skin looks not only depends on the condition of your epidermis layer but also on how well your skin can absorb and retain moisture.

Collagen and Elastin

The dermis is the second layer of the skin and is the thickest comprising of a mesh of collagen and elastin fibers.  Elastin is a fibrous protein resembling collagen that is the main constituent of the elastic fibers of connective tissue.  Collagen and elastin are both vitally important skin proteins.  Collagen is important because it is responsible for structural support and elastin because it helps the resistance or elasticity of the skin.

The dermis contains tiny blood vessels, which are important for nourishing and oxygenating the skin, and lymph nodes that help protect the skin from invasion from micro organisms.

Also found in the dermis layer are sebaceous glands, sweat glands, hair follicles, nerve and muscle cells.  Sebaceous glands produce sebum, a waxy yellowish body secretion that lubricates and waterproofs your skin and hair.  When the sebaceous glands do not produce enough sebum skin will become dry and more inclined to wrinkle.  On the other hand, too much sebum production leads to greasy skin and acne.

As you can see, the skin’s structure, elasticity and resilience depends on the condition of the dermis layer.  This is also where wrinkles develop.

Wrinkle Creams

Now it is easy to see that commercially produced creams designed as anti-wrinkle treatments have little or no chance of success because any collagen and elastin molecules these creams may contain are too large to penetrate the outer epidermis.  Therefore, these creams will have little or no effect on skin wrinkles.

This does not mean that you should stop moisturizing your skin because moisturizers are important.

Moisturizers

Using moisturizers will benefit your skin, but in a superficial way.  They cannot change the structure or condition of your skin.  Used on a daily basis they will help to keep your skin soft and smooth, a bit like rubbing oil into leather, but they cannot nourish your skin by delivering all the nutrients it needs to remain healthy and youthful looking.

In addition, the act of moisturizing, when done properly, will give your skin a facial massage.  Massaging improves blood circulation, re-distributes fat layers and gives your skin a more even appearance.  This process will help to smooth out fine lines and shallow wrinkles.

The massage itself produces results regardless of what type of cream you are using.

Continued:

Subcutaneous Layer

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