Skin Science Deep Dive: How Normal Skin Becomes Problem Skin

The Big Takeaway: Properly taking care of your skin using gentle skincare made for sensitive skin is one solid way to ensure that you're protecting yourself from (big) skin problems down the line.

In this post, we're serious. We're going to dive deep into the skin. This is for you if you love to understand the process. Skincare, like anything else, has a process, and the more you learn how to implement an optimal process, the better your skin has the chance to stay nourished, moisturized and above all, healthy.

So, we thought it would be good to dive a bit into just how it works when normal skin becomes problem skin.

Are you someone who has normal skin?

Have you ever thought or heard someone say that they don't have any skin problems and so they don't need to really do too much for their skin?

This is the article to share with them.

In this post, we'll discuss:

- How is our skin constructed?

- What's the "normal" state of skin?

- How do the different types of acne form?

- How does skin become problematic, and how can I prevent this?

OK, ready to dive in? Let's go! 

The skin is the largest organ of the human body, which does various functions including receiving, transporting, accepting and expelling according to the requirements of the body. Skin is composed of three primary layers that differ in purpose, thickness, and strength.

They are the epidermis and its sub-layers, the dermis and the hypodermis.

The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin that consists of five sub-layers of keratinocyte cells providing a barrier to pathogenic infections while regulating the amount of water released from the body into the atmosphere through Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL). The dermis is the middle layer that is made of collagen, elastin tissue, and other extracellular components that include vasculature, nerve endings, hair follicles, and glands. The leading role of the dermis is to assist the epidermis and enable the skin to thrive. The hypodermis isthe innermost layer of human skin that stores energy while padding and insulating the body.

So far, so good?

OK, so given the mentioned skin construction, what does it really mean to say that your skin is "normal?"

NormalSkin: The OptimumSkinCondition

Eudermic or, healthy skin, is generally termed as normal skin.

Normal skin is well- balanced with moisture and sebum. It is neither too oily nor too dry and performs a delicate balancing act. Normal skin has fine pores, efficient blood circulation and soft and smooth texture with no blemishes.

Moreover, the unique characteristic of normal skin is this:

It's not prone to sensitivity.

However, sometimes the aging processes within the skin of a person with normal skin can cause the skin to become dry.

Thisphenomenonis known as age-induced dryness.

So, as you can hopefully see here, one factor that can cause "normal" skin to become "problem" skin is the natural process of aging.

It's very common to see anti-aging skincare being promoted and used around the world, but perhaps it's time to call this area of skincare aging-delay, slower-aging, beautiful-aging or something else.

Nevertheless, it's one skin development to always keep in mind. 

Now, let's move onto another skin problem

Oily Skin: Acne and Blemish Prone Skin

The skin type with open pores, a shiny complexion, blackheads, and pimples, is known as oily skin. The sebaceous glands produce more sebum than in other skin types. As a result of that, oily skin is prone to comedones and various forms of acne.

Acne is an inflammatory disease that occurs when your hair follicles become clogged with oil and dead skin cells, especially on the face, shoulders, back, neck, chest, and upper arms. Internal factors such as genetics and hormones as well as external factors including medication, lifestyle, and stress contribute to the development of acne.

Acne is a hormone-induced skin condition. As the body begins to mature and develop, hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum which creates an optimum environment that helps Propinionbacterium, a common flora that usually lives harmlessly on people with healthy skin. However, P. acnes starts to produce colonies in the duct of the plugged sebaceous gland causing further inflammation and leading to papules and pustules on people with blemish and acne-prone skin.

Yes, that was a lot we know. But, we did say this would be deep dive, right?

Still with us? Ready to continue? OK, let's continue.

What are the different types of acne?

OK, we can just list these, yea?

- Blackheads: small, dark, flat blemishes; the dark coloration is caused when sebum reacts with oxygen.

- Whiteheads: a certain type of pimple which is a raised, round blemish with a milky-white cover.

- "Normal Pimple": a raised and colored blemish that fills with pus and is usually painful. There are two types of pimples: 

          -- Papule: a solid rise of the skin that does not contain pus (an inflamed pimple), and as well 

          -- Pustule:When a whitehead increases in size and severity it is known as a pustule.It is aninflamed pimple with pus.

- Nodule:Hard, painful acne lesions deep under the skin.

What you can hopefully see here is that when it comes to our skin it's not as simple as waking up, washing our faces with some random soap, slopping some lotion on and then heading on our merry way.

There are tons of things happening within the world of skin that most just don't know realize. 

I mean, be honest. Did you know that Nodules existed before today?

OK, now, let's finally get into ways to prevent these things from happening to our skin.

What can I do to help reduce blemishes and care for my skin?

The short answer: An appropriate skincare routine

Use products that have been specially formulated to suit your skin’s particular needs, and we recommend using products made with mild ingredients.

Albeit products made with mild ingredients are tailored to those with sensitive skin, it should be clear now that even "normal" skin can benefit from sensitive skin focused approaches.

Beyond skincare, though, what can I do?

Well, you can apply concealers and make-up products that have been specially designed for acne-prone skin, for example.

Wear a suitable sunscreen when you are basking in the sun as blemishes can cause pigmentation issues if over-exposed to the sun.

Also, it goes without saying but maintaining a healthy lifestyle is tantamount.

Exercise, sufficient sleep, and a balanced diet will help you -- and your skin -- to stay healthy. Moreover, you can adopt relaxation techniques to reduce stress which can trigger hormones and exacerbate acne and improve your skin’s natural resilience.

And, we'll just say it.

Try to give up smoking.

Beyond this: if you've got truly serious problems with your skin it's really only one thing to do and that's this: seek medical advice.

We hope this deep dive has been helpful! 

For proper skincare protection of your skin barrier and to keep your skin as normal, nourished and healthy as possible, grab some gentle skincare from DEWYTREE, available in the FLETNA shop.

The line of products from DEWYTREE have been made to treat problem skin while also helping you to take good care of your skin when you don't see glaring issues.

The keyword: see :)

Have questions? 

Open the pink chat icon in the bottom right to speak with us. We're here to help!