Skin and Its Function

If not for the beautiful organ that is the skin; we would all be in big trouble! First of all, every elemental and environmental factor, that consistently bombards the body, would easily permeate through the muscle fibers and exposed capillaries, and inflict heavy and immediate terminal damage! The skin can be seen as a great shield and one in which is alive, and is very fragile. The fragility of the human skin has been a source of income, for countless numbers of marketers that have tossed anything from snake oil to Eucalyptus Tree sap, into a bottle, and call it skincare therapy. The important aspect to remember about this skin is that without it we would not exist as a human species. In the same breath, the organ that is skin, is so delicate and fragile, it deserves and requires only the best and most beneficial products, being applied to this elastic ‘Wonder Shield’!

The skin has many layers, epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layers. These layers are further broken down into sub-layers, beginning with the epidermis. The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin organ, and has five layers itself.

· Stratum Basale

· Stratum Spinosum

· Stratum Granulosum

· Stratum Lucidum

· Stratum Corneum

The most visual and one of the most important layers of the epidermis skin structure, is the Stratum Corneum. It is within this dead layer of skin cells that shed every two weeks or so, that creates the ‘shield’ that blocks out all the unwanted environmental factors, and allows excretion of the waste products of the body. As one can see, this skin is a magnificent and highly detailed functional organ, which knows no match, as a protector of the human body, you! Without the skin we all would be nothing but jellylike, stacks of ooze, and nothing to write home about indeed! How’s that for thought?

The second layer of the skin is called the dermis layer. Within this layer of skin cells, the primary function is to sense touch and feeling, and houses the hair follicles. There are other important factors of the Dermis Layer, which in fact, is not made up of layers, but compact formations of living skin cells. To say that the human body, and the organ that is the skin, is remarkable and mind boggling, would be an understatement. In breaking down the skin layers into digestible and understandable areas, one will be better situated to protect and preserve this wonderful organ that is, skin.

The Subcutaneous Layer of the skin is the one that touches the nerve and muscle fibers that allow us to move and to make actions, such as picking things up and putting things down, possible. The Subcutaneous Layer is actually made up of fat and living tissue which carries on an intricate and complicated communication effort with the nerve endings of the body and act as a relay station, for impulses and movement affirmations. All in all the skin is a wondrous and exciting place and one that protects everything that the human body is.