The 3 layers of your skin

The 3 layers of your skin

Most people don’t think of skin as an organ of the body, but in fact it’s the biggest and one of the most important. Applying facial sunblock will help your skin stay healthy and help it to do its job.

Your skin helps to keep the germs from reaching your internals, gives us a sense of touch, and helps the body maintain its temperature. The skin is composed of 3 layers, the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous.

The epidermis is the outer layer. Cells in this layer are constantly changing. The newer cells push their way up moving the older skin cells to the surface where they die and flake off. This is the layer that gets exposed to the sun and applying a good facial sunblock will help protect these new skin cells.

Melanin is found in this layer and it’s what gives you your skin color. The more sun exposure you get, the more melanin is produced and hence the darker your skin gets. A good facial sunblock will slow down the production of melanin resulting in a lighter skin color.

The second layer is called dermis. It contains your sweat glands, blood vessels, nerve endings, and oil glands. This layer communicates to your brain what you are feeling. For example, if something you touched is hot, your skin will communicate to the brain, and your brain will tell the muscles to quickly pull away to avoid getting burning.

The third layer, subcutaneous, is mostly made up of fatty tissue helping the body to absorb shock. So, if you were to fall, the impact would be absorbed by the fat in this layer. The roots of your hair start in this layer. Hair eventually makes its way up going through all the layers and finally reaching the surface.

This is just a brief description of your skin and its functions. It is a very complex organ having many responsibilities. Facial sunblock should be used to help protect it. And even if you’re not directly in the sun, you should still use some for m of facial sunblock.

Tanning Booths & Tanning Beds

Most of us the use the more traditional way of getting tan by being out in the sun for hours, and using lots of suntan lotion. There might come a time when you want a tan but just don’t have the time during the day so you decide to sign up at a tanning salon.

At the tanning salon you’ll be faced with a choice to make. Do you want to use a tanning booth? Or a tanning bed?

Well, here’s some information that will help you decide.

Tanning booths are made for you to stand in. They typically use stronger lamps, around 160 watt, which helps you to tan more quickly. They are less comfortable since you have to stand, but provide a more even tan since you can move around in them. And since they use stronger lamps, A typical tanning session will last about 10 minutes.

Tanning beds, as the name implies, are much more comfortable because you are lying down when tanning. They use lower power bulbs, 100 watts average, so your tanning sessions are usually longer than tanning booths. Because of this, A typical tanning session can last up to 15 minutes.

You should know that the FDA has strict regulations on exposure times and are constantly trying to lower them because of the risks involved. This is an industry that is quite regulated and new laws are constantly being changed and added.

So, what are the risks?

Artificial tanning appliances are just as dangerous as natural sunlight, and in some cases are more dangerous.

The UVA rays in tanning salons are 2-3 times more powerful than the UVA rays from the sun.

And long term exposure can lead to premature skin aging, wrinkles, dark spots and worst case, skin cancer.

This article is not meant for you to avoid tanning salons, but rather point out the differences between tanning booths and beds, as well as the risks involved. As with anything seek advice from a professional if you have any questions.