Healthy Skin

Healthy Skin

1. What is Skin?

Skin is the soft outering covering of vertebrates that is all over our body. Skin has three basic layers and each layer has a different job. The dermis is the deepest layer and is responsible for making new skin cells. The hypodermis is a middle layer of maturing cells and the epidermis is the outer-most, superficial skin layer and the only one of the skin layers that sheds, or sloughs off, dead cells. Skin is all over our body.

2. What are 5 important things that our skin does?

It holds our body together. It stops germs and dirt from getting into the body. It can tell you when you have been hurt. (Pain)

3. How many layers does our skin have?

Skin has two layers and each layer has a different job. The outer layer is called the epidermis and the inner layer is called the dermis.

4. What is epidermis?

Epidermis is the outside layer. The epidermis makes the cells which are on the outside of the skin. Deep in the epidermis are growing cells, and on the outside of this are flat, dead skin cells.

5. What is dermis?

Dermis is a thicker layer and a more elastic (stretchy) layer.

In this layer are: glands, hair follicles, nerves  and blood vessels.

6. How thick is our skin?

Skin is not the same thickness all over your body. On most of our body the skin is around 22 mm. On the soles of your feet it much thicker, while on our eyelids it is only 0.5mm thick.

7. Why is the skin on the soles of our feet so thick?

Because that it needs to be the strongest. Our feet endure extreme forces when we walk and run and jump, so our feet get worn and tough.

8. Why is the skin on the palm of our hands firmer than the skin on the back of our hands?
The skin on the palms of our hands needs to be firm as we use our hands to grasp things with.