Skin Health 101
What is skin health and why is it so important for our skin? We'll discuss some key functions and how they are related with other body systems.
The skin is our largest organ and it performs a variety of important functions. Skin provides us with protection, insulation, temperature regulation, sensation, immune health, and more. Understanding the 7 key functions of the skin can help us understand why it’s so vital for our skin health and overall well-being.
Our skin is a remarkable organ that performs many essential functions. It serves as a barrier to the environment, helping our bodies maintain their internal temperature and providing sensory feedback to over 650 sweat glands, 20 blood vessels, and over 1,000 nerve endings! While at a total weight equal to about one-seventh, your total body weight is at an average of (20 square feet!). Without this vital, highly complex organ we would be unable to live truly gives a greater understanding of what our skin actually is.
Skin performs a multitude of vital roles in our everyday lives, from protecting us against pathogens, bacteria, parasites, and fungus to thermoregulation. A specific skin cell called the Langerhans cell act as a part of our immune system while nerve endings provide sensory detection such as temperature and touch. Our skin also aids with water regulation; its ability to prevent evaporation ensures that we stay hydrated and keeps nutrients on the body's exterior in tact. Lastly, it helps regulate internal temperatures by producing sweat or causing blood vessels to dilate for cooling down—plus humans get goosebumps when extra heat is needed! The communication from our skin to our brain and other regulatory systems helps our body systems perform as a whole, in a holistic fashion.
We'll go over more about specific traits of our skin in another email.
Finding skin therapists like Botanical Falls Skincare, who understands both the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that make up healthy skin, and why it is so important to focus on cellular health and function of the skin. For example, we know that the skin-gut axis is directly correlated with things such as chronic skin conditions like eczema, dry skin and psoriasis as well as other skin conditions.
Finding a skin therapist like Botanical Falls Skincare, who understands skin health and the interdependence on other body systems is paramount when deciding what treatments are best suited for you, what products to use, and what will be the most beneficial for long term health of the skin and in looking your best.