About Your Skin
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The FYI on your skin
Your skin is the largest and one of the most important organs in your body. It regulates your body temperature, responds to painful and pleasurable stimuli, prevents harmful substances from entering, and provides a shield from the sun's harmful rays.
Every square inch of your skin contains:
- 15 feet of blood vessels
- 4 yards of nerves
- 650 sweat glands
- 100 oil glands
- 1500 sensory receptors
- 3 million cells which are replaced every 35-45 days
Anatomy of Skin
Each layer of the human skin is distinct and has a specific function. The top layer of the skin, the epidermis, is composed of 5 sub-layers and is responsible for protecting the body from environmental elements. It is composed of two primary types of cells. Keratinocytes make up 90% of the epidermis and are responsible for waterproofing the skin and protecting us from heat, microbes, and chemicals. Melanocytes compose 8% of the epidermis and are responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that determines skin color and protects us from the sun.
The 5 sub-layers range from the underlying Stratum Basale, where new skin cells are born, to the Stratum Corneum, the outermost layer of dead and dying skin cells. The Stratum Corneum is particularly important because it is responsible for maintaining the acid mantle.
Beneath the epidermis lies the dermis. The dermis is composed mainly of collagen (the glue) and elastin (the fibrous protein). These two components help to give our skin its feel and texture. The dermis contains pain and touch receptors and many of our functional glands — sweat glands, hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands are responsible for producing the oil that moisturizes our skin. Overactive sebaceous glands are one of the primary causes of acne. The dermis also contains blood vessels that provide nutrients to the skin and millions of sensory receptors that recognize pain, pressure and temperature.
Life Cycle of Skin
Our skin changes as we age. A baby's skin has a much thicker fat layer and a much thinner epidermis. Babies have smooth, soft skin partly because they have a much higher percentage of hyaluronic acid, a compound capable of retaining 1,000x its weight in water. In addition, babies regenerate the strateum corneum (the outermost layer where new skin cells are formed) in as little as 14 days. This same regeneration process takes up to 37 days in a 50-year-old.
As our skin ages, it loses much of the underlying tissue that made it as soft and supple as a child. Over time, collagen (the “glue” that holds elastin together) is depleted from the dermis. Collagen depletion makes our skin thinner and less supple and causes skin to sag and lose its resiliency. In addition, as we age, decreased blood flow to our skin results in slower healing. Finally, for post-menopausal women, skin produces less protective oils so our skin dries out more easily.
Skin Fitness — How we can help
We understand how your skin is affected by age and environmental factors. We have specific solutions for the changes that occur as your skin ages. A healthy skin fitness regimen (daily skin care products) as well as corrective skin care treatments can help slow or reverse your skin’s natural aging process.
Dr. Honig has chosen a skin care line that is specifically formulated to help preserve, replenish and maintain the proper pH of the acid mantle of the skin. It is a glycolic acid based product line created by chemists and physicians. By matching the natural pH of the skin, our skin care products increase the skin’s natural ability to fight harmful bacteria and other air born contaminants.
One primary benefit of using glycolic acid as part of the daily skin regimen is that it shortens the exfoliation period for the stratum corneum (the layer where dead skin cells are shed). Increasing the cell turnover rate of the stratum corneum keeps our skin “working” — similar to the way a fitness program at the gym keeps our muscles toned. This process also decreases the risk of acne as hair follicles are less likely to become plugged with dead skin cells. Proper use of our skin care products will keep your skin pH balanced to fight off bacteria, and speed the exfoliation process to give you smoother, more even textured skin.
In addition to a daily skin fitness program, Dr. Honig also offers non-invasive medical treatments to combat and reverse the signs of aging. Using multiple lasers, we have the ability to diminish fine lines and wrinkles, remove age spots and other types of pigmented lesions, and eliminate spider veins and facial redness. We also combine prescription skin care with laser therapy to treat some of the most stubborn skin conditions such as acne and melasma.