50 Incredible Secrets of Skin

Since it would take me a long time to redo the infographic, I’m presenting the facts in bullet points. Let’s see what secrets our skin, which protects us from everything, holds.

Skin:

  • Skin is the largest organ in the human body.
  • When stretched, the average size of your skin is 2 square meters.
  • Your skin makes up 15% of your body weight.
  • There are two types of skin: hairy and hairless.
  • Your skin has three layers: Epidermis (the outermost layer, dead and waterproof), Dermis (middle layer, contains hair follicles and sweat glands), and Subcutis (bottom layer, contains fat and large blood vessels).
  • The elasticity and strength of your skin vary by region. For example, the flexibility of the skin on your elbow differs from that on your abdomen.
  • The thinnest skin is 0.02 mm thick and found on your eyelids.
  • Scar tissue and scars do not contain hair or sweat glands.

Hair:

  • Hair and body hair grow for 2-6 years.
  • You lose an average of 20 to 100 hairs or body hairs daily.
  • Hair is made of a protein called keratin.
  • Each hair or body hair follicle contains a small muscle called the arrector pili muscle, which contracts when you are cold or excited, causing your hair to stand up.

What’s happening outside?

  • Keratin also forms your nails and the outer dead surface of the skin.
  • Your skin renews itself every 28 days.
  • 50% of the dust in your home is made up of dead skin particles.
  • Lipids are the natural oils that protect the outer surface of your skin. Lipids can be damaged by the use of alcohol and detergents.
  • Your skin sheds 30,000 dead skin cells every minute.
  • Your skin has its own bacterial environment, with over 1,000 types of bacteria and about 1,000,000,000,000 bacteria in total.
  • Normally, sweat is odorless. The unpleasant smell of sweat is caused by bacteria.
  • Your ears have special sweat glands that produce earwax.
  • An average of 14 different types of fungi live between your toes.

Your skin colors with melanin:

  • The protein responsible for different skin colors is melanin. Melanocyte cells produce and distribute melanin.
  • Human skin color has many different tones.
  • 7% of skin cells are melanocytes.
  • There are two types of melanin: A. Pheomelanin: gives colors from yellow to red, B. Eumelanin: gives colors from dark brown to black.
  • Everyone has the same number of melanocyte cells. The difference in skin color is not due to the number of melanocyte cells but to the amount of melanin these cells produce.
  • Melanin is also responsible for the color of your eyes. The skin surrounding the eyes is very sensitive and colorless.
  • It takes 6 months for babies to acquire their permanent skin color after birth.

Take good care of your skin:

  • Acne is caused by the overproduction of cells that cover the sweat gland.
  • Sometimes babies can have acne in the first few weeks of life.
  • Four out of every five teenagers experience some form of acne during adolescence.
  • One in twenty women deals with adult acne.
  • One in a hundred men has adult acne.
  • Skin or hair follicle boils are caused by staphylococcal bacteria. They enter through a tiny cut and reach the hair follicle.

For healthy skin, you need:

  • Vitamin A: Against sun damage and cellulite
  • Vitamin D: Against spots
  • Vitamin C: Antioxidant, regenerates vitamin E, and protects against the sun
  • Vitamin E: Antioxidant, protects against sun and aging

 

skin-colour-map-indigenous-people

 

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