For the first part of the article, I’ll start by taking you through your skin. You have to keep in mind that the most important role of the skin is to protect you, and it has three main functions: barrier function, sensory function, and metabolic function. This is the prerequisite for scientific skin care.
I’ll give you three seconds to answer one question first: What is the largest organ in the human body?
It’s not the liver, and it’s not the lungs, it’s not the heart, it’s not the stomach, it’s the skin. After all of it is unfolded, its area can be close to two square meters.
It is not only large but also heavy, accounting for nearly 1/6 of the body’s weight, including subcutaneous tissue. For example, for an adult weighing 150lb (68 kg), the weight of the skin is almost 25lb (11 kg).
Table of Contents
The Main Function of the Skin: the Barrier Function
As a human organ, it always has to take on a specific function. For example, the function of the stomach is digestion, the function of the intestines is absorption, and the function of the liver is detoxification. So, what is the function of the skin?
The main function of the skin is what we professionals call the “barrier function,” to put it in layman’s terms, and the skin is a wall that is used to protect you.
We live on the earth, in fact, is always facing the test of nature. There is wind, sun, rain, water, and air may also be harmful substances. As the organ of the body in contact with the outside world, the skin is a wall that wraps your muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs to keep them safe from the outside world.
Moreover, people have lost the protection of body hair in the evolutionary process, leaving only the bare skin to take on this protective function; the pressure is great.
What superpowers have the skin evolved in order to protect you?
Strong external resistance
The skin has evolved a soft but dense stratum corneum to defend itself against external invasion and interference. The skin has a strong immune barrier and microbial barrier to protect against harmful external microorganisms. The skin has also evolved melanin to protect against UV rays that can cause genetic damage and mutations.
Strong internal protection.
Water is the source of life, and the human body accounts for 70% of its entire body weight. To prevent water loss from the body, the skin is rich in natural moisturizing factors that help us lock water in the body. Once the skin is lost, a person will soon die due to dehydration.
Powerful regenerative ability
When fighting against the harsh external environment, your skin can also be injured.
To cope with these losses, the skin is also one of the body’s largest reservoirs of stem cells that can recover in time if it is damaged. This regenerative capacity, when a person becomes an adult, is only available in the skin and liver.
In short, your skin is busy in order to protect you.
Secondary Functions of the Skin: Sensory Function and Metabolic Function
Sensory function. The skin is also one of the largest information exchanges between people and the outside world, and the skin is full of nerve endings. The temperature is high, and it knows hot; low temperature, it knows cool; something sharp invasion, it also knows pain; once the outside world, it will give you a message.
Metabolic function. For example, you eat sugar, fat, protein, and electrolytes, and the metabolism of these substances, part of the skin is carried out in the. For example, sebaceous glands, and sweat glands, are very important metabolic channels and endpoints for people. If you ate a hot pot last night and get up the next morning, your face will feel oily.
After understanding the barrier function, sensory function, and metabolic function of the skin, have you noticed a strange problem. Same human organs, few people maintain the heart, liver, and lungs every day, but when it comes to the skin, women will spend a lot of money and a lot of time.
You know, the size of the market for cosmetics is more than 200 billion euros a year, amazing it.
The reason why the skin is so valuable is because it is on the outside of the body, your health, vitality index, and even sex appeal; this important social information is all exposed by it, so people can not help but groom it, especially the skin on the face.
Two Cognitive Misconceptions About the Skin
The skin does not do the following two tasks, or to be precise, the skin does not actively do them.
- The skin is not responsible for breathing. For people, the lungs are the breathing organ. The next time you see someone promoting a skin care product, saying something like it’s lightweight and won’t prevent your skin from breathing, you can ignore it.
- The skin is not responsible for absorption, especially active absorption. It’s not that intelligent and can’t tell what’s good to absorb more and what’s bad; it has to guard against. Human skin only has a little limited permeability, and all skin care products, in fact, use this little permeability to play a role.
Conclusion
We have talked about the barrier function, sensory function, and metabolic function that the skin is responsible for. We also helped you break the two misconceptions that the skin can breathe and absorb.
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