What is skin and what are its functions?

Published on July 22, 2021 - Video Transcript.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the second installment of Seticrei's YouTube channel.

Today I'm going to talk to you about the skin: first of all, what is the skin? It is an organ, in fact it is the largest organ we have of the entire body. It measures two square meters and weighs 10 pounds. To give you an idea of how much was spent I want to compare it to the heart organ which measures 13 - 15 centimeters and weighs 250 - 300 grams.

But what are the main functions of this organ?

First and foremost, to defend us from external agents, to prevent the penetration of external pathogens and to interact with the outside world.

From an anatomical point of view our skin is divided into three layers: epidermis, dermis and hypodermis.

The epidermis is the outermost surface, consisting largely of keratinocytes, which, as the word implies, are keratin-rich cells with no nucleus.

Then there are the melanocytes, responsible for the coloring of our skin.

And finally the Langerhans cells, which have a phagocytic function.

The dermis is the real engine, the real heart of the pen, where there are bloods, sebaceous glands, hair bulbs, collagen, elastin, fibroblasts... and the epidermis communicates with the dermis through the dermo-epidermal junction.

The hypodermis, on the other hand, is the fat reservoir needed to maintain body heat and conserve energy for all the activities we perform every day.

Our skin is our boundary and also our main means of communication with the outside world.

In fact, earlier, among the functions of the skin, I said that the skin allows us to interact with the outside world.

The skin tells everything about us and has an incredible memory, impossible to reset. In fact, very often, unconsciously, we use our skin to express our psychological discomfort.

Think of all the epidermal problems defined as psychosomatic: psoriasis, alopecia, eczema... Think of how a skin dysfunction can have a significant negative impact on the quality of our lives, our happiness and our psychophysical well-being.

The skin tells us everything and has an incredible memory, impossible to reset.

But there is a scientific explanation for this: the skin originates from the same embryonic leaflet from which the nervous system originates. That's why there is this close relationship between the skin and the psyche.

There is also a close relationship between the skin and the inside of our body: our face maps the inside of our body, and now a comprehensive picture of what I have told you will appear.

Very often in fact when I meet people who manifest various epidermal problems, based on the area in which they manifest the problem, I ask them questions about the internal health of their organs.

Looking at the picture for example if a person manifests a rash on their forehead the first thing I ask is if they have proper bowel function. Also sleep and nutrition play a role of fundamental importance on the skin.

In fact, the skin tells us how much we have cried, how much we have laughed, how old we are, how much we have been exposed to the sun, whether we are healthy or not, how much we sleep, whether we have the right amount of water, whether we have a healthy diet...

But the importance of the skin organ is already felt in the embryonic stage: in the fetus, in fact, the skin is the sense organ that develops before all the others and is also the most sensitive.

In fact, as early as the eighth week, when the embryo is 1.5 cm long, a light caress on the belly causes a stimulus to the fetus.

The contact that passes through the skin has in fact a key role in cognitive development in children.

To demonstrate this, Frederick II of Swabia did a very special experiment: he took newborns and fed them regularly, but reduced the contact between the babies and their mothers to a minimum. The babies died, all despite having their basic survival needs met.

Think that we can live without speaking, without hearing, without seeing, but we die without being touched and touched.

This must tell us a lot about the role the skin organ plays in our lives: through touch we communicate and understand far beyond what words can say.

Think also of how many verbal expressions we use to express emotions containing the word "skin": "I like or dislike that person's skin", "I'm so happy I can't stand it anymore", "I've got goose bumps", "I'm on edge"...

Skin speaks about us much more than what we say about ourselves.

Our emotions can be read on our skin.

In light of all of this, I hope that I have been able to give you a greater awareness of the skin organ, and how important it is to learn how to interpret what it is trying to tell us every day.

This increased attention and awareness towards the skin organ will allow you to see your tailored beauty routine not only as a pampering towards yourself but as an attention towards this extraordinary organ with multiple functions.

See you next episode... Bye everyone!