Skin Resurfacing: How to keep your skin young and healthy!
The Three layers of the skin
Skin is the largest organ in the body. It functions as part of the integumentary system, which works to protect the body from the external world and keep things out. Your skin shields you from environmental elements, ultraviolet radiation, chemicals, weather conditions, and microbes. Skin also contains nerves that allow us to experience our sense of touch.
There are three main layers of skin that offer all the protection from the outside world.
The Epidermis
The epidermis is the water-resistant outer layer of skin and the body’s first line of defense against environmental elements, ultraviolet radiation, bacteria, and other germs. It’s made up of 5 sublayers of closely packed cells. The epidermis is responsible for the cell renewal cycle: dead skin cells slough off the stratum corneum (the superficial sublayer of skin visible to the eye) and are replaced with new, healthy cells that generate within deeper sublayers of the epidermis. The epidermis also includes your pores, which allow oil and dirt to escape your body. Our epidermis turns over every 28 days so it matters how we care for our skin so we turn over healthy and vibrant skin cells. The epidermis is about one sheet of paper thick or approximately 100 microns.
The epidermis contains several specialized cells, including:
- Keratinocyte cells that create and store keratin, the protein that strengthens skin
- Langerhans cells that help prevent infection and protect the immune system
- Melanocyte cells that produce melanin, the pigment that determines skin color
- Squamous cells and basal cells, which can mutate and cause basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma
We want to keep these cells healthy! We recommend skin care products that help protect and repair these skin cells. Retinol or retinoic Acid products are recommended to help with skin turn over to keep our skin looking healthy and young!
The Dermis
The dermis is the layer of skin under the epidermis. This layer of skin contains connective tissues and houses your body’s hair follicles, sweat and oil glands, and blood vessels. The dermis also contain nerve endings that are responsible for sending messages to the brain when you experience pain. Blood vessels located in the dermis help supply your skin with fresh blood carrying the oxygen and nutrients it needs to be healthy. Often we recommend skin care products that help improve blood flow and stimulate collagen and elastin.
Within its connective tissues, the dermis produces two important proteins:
- Collagen and elastin, which are responsible for the shape, structure, firmness, and elasticity of your skin.
The Hypodermis
The hypodermis is made of subcutaneous (under the skin) fats, connective tissues, blood vessels, and nerve cells. It’s the layer of skin where fat is deposited and stored. The blood vessels in the hypodermis are bigger and connect to the rest of your body. Stored fat helps regulate body tissue and cushion your body’s internal organs against bumps, hard impact, and falls.
The tissue in the hypodermis produces one important cell:
- Adipocytes that store fat used for energy, cushioning, and insulation.
Fat can store toxins and become inflammed. Glutathione or antioxidants are often recommended in supplements or skin care products to help us detoxify all the toxins we are exposed to on a regular basis. This keeps our skin glowing. Our Renew IV drip is awesome for glowing skin and is used in Hollywood with the stars to keep our skin bright.
Skin Resurfacing is one of the services we recommend to our patients as part of our comprehensive Aesthetic treatments to help keep all the layers of our skin healthy, glowing and vibrant. It should be done on a regular basis. Skin Resurfacing helps with:
- Brightness
- Pigment
- Skin Texture
- Fine Lines
- Wrinkles
- Rosacea
- Poor size
Services that resurface to sand down the imperfections:
- Laser Resurfacing
- Microneedling (Skin pen)
- Radiofrequency Microneedling (Morpheus)
- Chemical Peels
- Dermaplaning
Call ReviatlyzeMD for your aesthetic evaluation today at (865) 293-5828.
Let us help you keep your skin looking healthy, young and vibrant!