Five things you didn't know about skin

A complex organ, it's good to know what role our skin plays so we know how to look after it. Here's five facts that you may not know...

1. Hydration

The skin helps balance the fluid level of our whole body. Water is retained by the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin, which not only helps maintain the plumpness of the skin itself, it also prevents water from leaving the body.

2. You are what you eat

Our gut and skin are symbiotic. You may have noticed how eating badly can bring out spots or result in dry skin? When the levels of good bacteria in the gut becomes imbalanced it can lead to inflammation and irritable dermatitis. The microbes in your gut also help maintain a healthy balance of hormones by reducing the release of stress hormones which also cause breakouts and irritation.

3. Heavy duty outerwear

Due to its coverage, the skin weighs around 15% of our total body weight. This decreases with as the skin becomes thinner and loses the fatty acids and lipids that make it up.

4. 30-day

New skin cells are formed several layers below the stratum corneum and can take up to four weeks to come to the surface. The skin essentially renews itself over a period of about 30 days, with older cells falling off to make way for new ones. We can assist this process, keeping our skin glowing, by using exfoliating scrubs to slough off those dead cells.

5. Aging starts early

After the age of 25 your collagen levels can start to slowly deplete which can lead to a steady appearance of fine lines and a decrease in skin elasticity. Our skincare routine is important to keep skin plump and healthy as this starts to happen and treatments that are high in Vitamin C are a great start.