| Spots, blackheads (comedones), whiteheads
(milia) and skin bumps erupt; pores open; moles and freckles
and blotches of all kinds gather; dark rings appear under puffy
eyes. Then, from the age of about 25, it can seem like a downward
descent into the sags, bags and wrinkles of middle age. Think
of a baby’s skin. After the odd bumps and blotches of birth
have died down, it’s picture-perfect - pink, translucently
clear, even and smooth all over. Then something happens, particularly
to the most visible part - our faces.
Composition of Skin
First, to make sense of it all and understand, for instance,
why water is so vital, you need to know how your skin works.
Your skin is a living, breathing organ. The billions of cells
in your skin float in watery liquid which has the same amount
of salt as seawater. Seventy per cent of your body is water
and, of that, 35 per cent is found in your skin.
A cross section of skin looks a bit like a jam sandwich, with
the upper layer, the epidermis, and the lower layer, the dermis,
sandwiched around the thin basal layer. It sounds as simple
as nursery tea, but in fact what’s happening in your
skin is a complex, never-ending saga of activity.
Skin renews itself every two to three weeks in young women
(up to twice as long in older women), giving repeated opportunities
for improvement. The visible outermost layer of skin, which
protects the inner layers from the world, is made up of hardened
rigid skin cells. As these die, they loosen and are shed,
then instantly replaced by their fellows queueing up behind.
Every day we shed about four per cent of our total number
of skin cells; during our lives we lose about 13.6kg (30lb)
of skin. (Dead skin cells, incidentally, are a huge component
of household dust.)
The headquarters of skin renewal lies deep in the thick squidgy
cushion of the dermis. Although we can’t see what’s
going on, this governs the outer layers and thus the appearance
of our skin. Here, beavering away, are the blood vessels,
sweat glands and hair follicles, the connective tissue (containing
the all-important collagen and elastin which keep our skin
plump and youthful), as well as our sebaceous glands.
Sebaceous glands are one of the key factors controlling facial
skin because they are targeted by androgens, the male hormones
which women also have in lower levels; these trigger acne,
whiteheads, blackheads, skin bumps and the waxy yellow lumps
of seborrheic hyperplasia.
Ageing
Why does skin age? In a nutshell, it occurs as collagen and
elastin, the two major components in the underlying support
structure of the skin, degenerate. The major factors in this
degeneration are ultra violet (UV) light from sun and sunbeds,
and damage by nasty little single molecules called free radicals,
which cause cellular havoc as they race round looking for
a mate. Both UV light and free radicals cause the collagen
fibres, which should lie straight and orderly, to twist and
mat so that the skin begins to line, sag and wrinkle. Sun
exposure at least can be avoided where possible: since much
of the harm is done before you are 18, start using a sun preparation
early and make sure your children do too.
From the age of 50, the number of elastin fibres declines
tremendously, accelerating the drooping, bagging and sagging.
At the same time, the skin becomes drier because oil production
diminishes, as does the skin’s ability to hold water.
As if that weren’t enough, the rate of cell renewal also
reduces.
So, as the years go by, skin becomes increasing fragile and
vulnerable to the skin villains listed opposite. But not all
damage done to your skin is irreversible - give it some extra
tender loving care and your skin will respond quickly and
positively.
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