Your skin does a big job for you. In fact, each inch of skin is made up of 19 million skin cells, 650 sweat glands, 20 blood vessels, and 1,000 nerve endings, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). “The skin is the body’s largest organ. It’s our first line of defense against the outside world, including irritants and allergens. Maintaining a healthy skin barrier is crucial to this mission,
”says Heidi Waldorf, MD, of Waldorf Dermatology Aesthetics in Nanuet, New York, and an associate clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. More than a protective organ, your skin functions as an immune organ, she says:
“Specialized immune cells live in the skin and recognize intruding organisms and substances. They send out messages to stimulate a fighter response or allergic response by recruiting specialized white blood cells from blood vessels in the skin.”
All that is to say, respecting this important organ with smart skin-care habits can help keep you healthy — and, yes, even smooth fine lines and wrinkles, and lessen discoloration. Knowing these cool facts will help you care for your skin as best you can:
1. Your Skin Is Hiding a (Not So Great) Secret
Hopefully, you’re diligent about applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen daily now, but there may have been a time in your past when you were not so careful — and those habits may catch up to you. While you may not be able to see it in the mirror, UV photos can reveal the sun damage simmering beneath your skin, and the AAD has some photos that may shock you.
“Sun damage may not be visible to the naked eye yet but will show up more with time,” says Lauren Ploch, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Georgia and South Carolina. In addition to using products with SPF daily, to slow and reverse these effects, she recommends using a retinoid at night. Retinoids are skin-care products that can help treat acne, combat early signs of aging, and help heal sun-damaged skin, according to Dermstore.com, a retailer for skin-care products.
