Skincare
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nutritional support, genetic predisposition and systemic health problems can also affect normal quality and consistency of the skin.
9-A How to find skin type – About 15 minutes after washing your face, press a tissue against your skin for 5 to 10 seconds. Dark spots all over the tissue mean your complexion is oily; just a few spots indicate combination skin. If your skin is normal, you’ll see light spots; if there’s no oil at all on the tissue, you’ve got dry skin.
Skin Microbes
10. The human skin is a veritable ecosystem, teeming with trillions of microbes. Microbes including bacteria and viruses are single-celled microorganisms, are very good at survival due to their superfast reproduction and smart mutations. We don’t see them but they are all over us and in the body. Each of us is a host to an ecosystem of microbes like bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa in our intestines, mouth, eyes, ears, nose, anus, vagina/penis and of course the skin. Contrary to popular belief, these are not all dirty and dangerous creatures. The good ones produce vitamins, help digest our food and work as an essential part of our immune system.
11. The skin is the largest organ of our body, and a generous host to microbes. We have between 11,000 (forearm) to 1.5 million (scalp) bacteria per sq. cm. Many people believe washing will remove these “bugs and germs”. In fact, studies show even the most vigorous washing does not remove microbes completely. Babies are born microbe-free, but rapidly pick up their own set of microbial friends and become “saturated” within nine days.
12. A layer of dead cells constitutes the outer section of our skin. Each new cell produced by cell division moves from the inner section of the skin towards the surface. In the process, the liquid component (cytoplasm) of the cell transforms into a resistant protein known as keratin and the cell dies. This keratin has a very hard structure and cannot be decomposed by digestive enzymes, which is a sign of its resistance. So invaders such as bacteria and fungi don’t find anything to rip off from the outer layer of the skin.
