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Healthy Skin: Why it's SO important for your health!
Have you ever wondered why I’m so fascinated (and obsessed) with healthy skin? It’s because it’s the largest organ of our body, and completely unique to each of us. No two skins are the same! But there are plenty of other reasons I’m obsessed with healthy skin, too…
Your skin is an absolute superhero! It covers every inch of your body, from head to toe. And, it’s super clever. It has the ability to repair and regenerate, making it incredible at healing and protecting us.
Did you know that your skin regenerates approximately every 27 days in your youth? This extends to around 50-60 days as we mature. Your skin undergoes a complete overhaul, shedding and replacing old cells with new ones.
Your skin is also your first line of defence against the outside world. It protects you from harmful pathogens, bacteria, and viruses, and also protects you from UV rays. Did you know that a sun tan, is actually evidence of damage to your skin? Your skin produces melanin, in an attempt to protect you from the sun!
Wound healing
Your skin has an amazing ability to repair itself when you are wounded. This is why, as a skin and scar specialist, I focus on treatments that trigger the natural healing abilities within your skin.
As soon as you have a wound, your body immediately springs into action, to ‘heal and seal’ the wound site. Your body instinctively knows what to do. It helps to protect you against infection, while also working hard to regenerate and repair the wound site.
If you’d like to know more about how your skin responds to wound healing, then you can read my blog HERE, or download the Ultimate Scar Guide, via the button below.
Your healthy skin v the sun!
Your skin has its own protection against the sun, too. But that doesn’t mean you can skip the sunscreen!! Remember, UVB – B is for burning, and those rays are present when the sun is shining (and when it’s hazy), but UVA – A is for ageing – those rays are present 365 days a year, come rain or shine, and are responsible for up to 80% of premature ageing!
Our skin’s natural defence to the sun is melanin. Melanin is the pigment that is responsible for our skin, hair, and eye color. We have cells in our skin called melanocytes, which produce melanin, when your skin is exposed to the sun, to protect it.
UV rays can cause a range of damage to our skin cells, including DNA damage, premature aging, and an increased risk of skin cancer. Melanin absorbs and dissipates harmful UV rays in an attempt to prevent damage to our cells.
The more melanin in your skin, the darker your skin color and the greater your natural protection is. But it is still important for everyone to use sunscreen. Here’s an interesting fact – did you know that we all have the same number of melanocytes in our skin? The difference in our skin tones is down to the amount of melanin those cells produce. The deeper your skin tone, the more melanin you naturally produce.
Some fun healthy skin facts
I do love some fun, and geeky skin facts! Here’s some things you might not know…
Your skin is made up of around 300 million skin cells, and you’ll shed around 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells every minute. This means you’ll lose approximately 9 pounds of skin cells each year!
The thickness of your skin varies depending on the body part. The thinnest skin is found on our eyelids (about 0.02mm thick), while the thickest skin is on our feet, particularly the soles (up to 4mm thick).
Your skin plays a crucial role in regulating your body temperature. When you are hot, blood vessels dilate, and you sweat, in a bid to cool yourself down. When you’re feeling cold, your blood vessels constrict to conserve heat.
This brings me to my next fun fact… Goosebumps! These occur when the tiny muscles attached to our hair follicles contract, causing our hairs to stand upright. This response is a leftover from our evolutionary past when it helped our ancestors trap a layer of air close to the skin to keep warm.
Your skin has around 1,000 nerve endings per square inch of skin, which helps us with sensory touch. There are approximately 1,000 nerve endings per square inch of skin! How mind-blowing is that?!
Sunscreen
Come on now… You didn’t expect me to write a blog on ANYTHING skin related, without shoehorning my number one piece of skin care advice in, did you!?
We cannot talk about healthy skin, without talking about sunscreen!
Sunscreen shields your skin from harmful UV rays – and let’s not forget that UVA (A is for ageing) is responsible for up to 80% of premature skin ageing!
Check out my video, where I go into sunscreen in more detail and talk about the different types of sunscreen you can choose.
5 things to be grateful for
Here are 5 things to be grateful for, when it comes to your skin!
1. Its ability to protect you! Your skin acts as a barrier, shielding you from harmful bacteria, viruses, and environmental pollutants, and protecting you every single day. Your skin is for the first line of defence, in keeping you healthy.
2. It’s unique! You’re your own kind of beautiful. Your skin is entirely unique to you, no one else has skin quite like you!
3. Its incredible and magical ability to heal and regenerate. I am forever fascinated (and grateful) for my skin’s outstanding ability to repair, regenerate and heal. My skin has recovered from minor scrapes and injuries, through to more series of injuries and major surgeries. Time and time again, it’s supported me through my healing.
4. Sensory experiences: Your skin enables you to feel the warmth of the sun, the touch of a friend, your partner, or your children. It allows you to feel so many different sensations, that add to the richness of our lives.
5. Superhero adaptability!: Your skin has an amazing ability to adapt to so many changes throughout your life. Hormonal changes, illness, the natural aging process, and so much more. Your skin is always fighting to balance, repair and protect you. It’s a beautiful reminder of your resilience and strength in the face of change.
My top 5 tips for healthy skin
So now that you know how amazing your skin is, here are my top 5 tips on how you can support healthy skin!
1. SUNSCREEN, obviously! I don’t think I need to repeat myself here.
2. Eat the rainbow! I recommend eating a variety of different coloured fruits & vegetables, to maximise your different nutritional intake. Eat plenty of good quality protein, essential fats and you’re winning. You’ll find plenty of nutritional advice throughout my blogs, and you can also download the Ultimate Skin Guide, via the button below.
3. Make sleep a priority! It’s called beauty sleep for a reason. Your skin is repairing and regenerating overnight; removing toxins and fluids and re-balancing your hormones. Sleep is crucial to healthy skin, so aim for 7-9 hours a night.
4. Targeted skincare can really help. Having a skincare routine that supports healthy cell turnover, strengthens your skin, and protects it, is really important. As we mature, our natural collagen and elastin levels drop, and our skin becomes more vulnerable to damage from UV rays. Using targeted products can really help you achieve skin. Click HERE to learn more about skincare.
5. Exercise and sunshine: Exercise is amazing for your skin. It boosts your circulation and immune system, increases blood flow, and helps the body to remove toxins – all whilst helping you look and feel amazing! And, if you can get outside, even better, as you’ll get the extra boost of vitamin D, essential for healthy skin and bones! Just don’t forget your sunscreen.
Fallen in love with your skin?
I really hope that my blog on healthy skin has helped you really fall in love with how wonderful it is! I know that sometimes, we can get frustrated and upset with how we look, especially when we see the signs of ageing creeping in. But please take a moment to appreciate how truly amazing your skin is.
If you would like some help with your skin, then please get in touch. It can be confusing, with all of the different advice available out there, and the truth is, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ answer, as so many factors affect your skin. I always work with my clients from the inside out, and outside in – to ensure you get the best possible results.
I offer remote services, as well as clinical treatments. My aesthetics clinic is based in Alton, Hampshire. I’m on the Hampshire/Surrey border, just 15 minutes from Basingstoke and Farnham, and I’m at the end of a direct train line from London Waterloo.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
And, if you haven’t taken my Skin Quiz yet, then please do. It’s fun, takes less than 4 minutes, and you’ll get immediate access to personalised results.
