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| Face
Wash Spots Skin is the biggest organ of the body and it does a very important job - it keeps all your insides together in one package, which it then covers and protects. It has 3 main functions:
The skin is made up of 3 layers: the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous layers. The surface layer of flat, hard skin cells is called the epidermis. The cells you can see are dead and are constantly falling off (at a rate of about 40,000 cells each minute) but this doesn’t mean your skin gets thinner and thinner until it runs out. This is prevented because you are always producing more skin cells at the base of your epidermis. Melanin is the substance that gives the skin its colour and helps protect you from getting burned by the sun’s ultraviolet waves. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin and the more natural protection you have from the sun. But no matter how dark your skin, it’s always worth wearing extra sun protection of SPF 15+. The dermis, under the epidermis, contains nerve endings, blood vessels, oil glands and sweat glands. The nerves are important because they tell us how things feel, and they protect us from danger by reminding us not to put our hand in a fire (burning our skin) because it would be painful! The blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells and take away waste products. As we get older, the dermis gets thinner and these blood vessels can become more obvious in pale skin. There are also sebaceous glands producing sebum (oil), which lubricates the skin and makes it waterproof. Pores in the dermis produce sweat, which helps your body keep cool on a hot day. The deepest layer of the skin is the subcutaneous layer that contains fat to help us keep warm and absorb shock. This layer holds the skin to the tissues underneath. Unlike other organs, which wouldn’t thank you for being washed (e.g. lungs), your skin needs to be washed regularly to remove dirt and bacteria, and therefore help prevent infections. Some people produce more sebum (oil) than others, but everyone generally produces more sebum during puberty, as there is a sudden increase in sex hormones in the body at this time which increases sebum production. Sebum can make your hair and skin greasy and this grease can trap dirt. If pores or hair follicles become blocked with sebum, dead cells or dirt, spots can develop, it is important to wash the skin thoroughly but gently everyday. The sweat and sebum film on the skin’s surface is slightly acidic (pH 5.5), which is believed to help kill bacteria. Most soaps and face washes operate at pH 7 (neutral) or above and therefore make the skin closer to neutral. This kind of alkaline soap can remove the protective sweat and sebum film on the skin’s surface and therefore leave the skin dry and vulnerable to bacterial or fungal infections. Some medicated facial treatments and washes (usually designed for a specific skin type) remove dead cells as well as dirt, and so they must be used carefully in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions in order to maximise their efficiency. Good packaging should detail how astringent/gentle the product is and also the recommended frequency of use to avoid skin damage.
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