Let’s talk about skin / Skin-talk

It’s our body’s largest organ and can account for as much as 15 percent of our total weight. But how much do you really know about your skin? Here are just a few facts and figures to get you thinking….

1. The average adult has around 21 square feet of skin. It’s made up of 300 million skin cells, weighs 9 lbs and contains more than 11 miles of blood vessels.
2. Skin has three layers: the waterproof epidermis at the top; the tough dermis housing our sweat glands and hair in the middle; and the inner hypodermis, which is mostly fat and loose connective tissue.
3. The skin on your eyelids is the thinnest, at just 0.02 mm thick. At 1.4 mm thick, the skin on our feet is the thickest.
4. Skin is crucial for regulating our body temperature. The most obvious way it does this is by making us sweat – we can sweat as much as 32 fl oz. of fluid on a normal day. In cooler temperatures skin keeps us warm by tightening blood vessels to keep blood deeper within the body and away from the cool outside. Our pores also shrink to keep in the heat, and we get goose bumps to trap a layer of warm air over our body.
5. Skin is self-regenerating. Dead skin cells are constantly and automatically being exfoliated, and a new layer of skin is created every 28 days or so. Bear in mind that the dead skin cells can hang around on the skin surface, so it’s important to regularly use an exfoliator to remove them. More
6. The way your skin ages is connected to your skin type. You may have felt cursed with oily skin in your youth when it gave you acne, but as you get older you will find that those same oils keep your skin moisturised and protect it from aging.
7. The dreaded cellulite that gives our buttocks and thighs a dimpled appearance occurs when fat deposits push through the connective tissue beneath the skin. 80-90% of women get it at some point in their lives. Sticking to a low-fat diet, quitting smoking and taking up exercise may help to reduce. More

This list just scratches the surface (excuse the pun!) of how amazing our skin is. Needless to say, it deserves a little tender loving care in thanks for all it does for us.