5 Weird, Frightening, and Astounding Facts About Skin

Your skin literally surrounds you. Your entire body is covered in it and, quite literally, you wouldn’t be alive without it. But there’s much more to your skin than meets the eye. Skin, in general, is so fascinating, performs so many jobs, and can be affected in so many ways that it’s almost incredible. Facts About Skin

Today we’re here to see just how astonishing your skin can be by giving you all of these facts that you have probably never thought about before. Take a seat and enjoy the ride. And since we’re talking about skin problems and Facts About Skin, you might want to inform an aspiring dermatologist about these dermatology jobs in Florida.

1. Your Skin Can Weigh More Than 20 Pounds- Facts About Skin

That’s right, if you were to tear off your entire skin and set it on a scale, you would be shocked to realize that it weighs just shy of 9 kilograms. That’s quite a lot given how thin your skin is compared to other body parts, right? Well, that’s because your skin covers your entire body, and when you add it all together you get an impressive weight to actual mass ratio. Not only that, but your average American woman’s skin can go beyond 25 pounds!

2. You Get Completely New Skin Once Every Month

Now you might be thinking aliens come in every now and again and replace your entire skin. All while you’re asleep and can’t feel a thing. Well, you can calm down, as there is no evidence for that.

What this fact refers to is that your skin regenerates continuously. New cells are created in that deep layer of the skin and take about four weeks to rise to the surface. Dead skin cells shed away (that’s why you see an inexplicable amount of “dust” sometimes) and make room for new ones.

3. But How Come Your Tattoos Stay Almost Unchanged?

Well, that’s because you have an immune system. When the needle punctures your skin, your immune system sends out cells called macrophages that help heal the damage. One side effect is that these macrophages absorb the dye and pass it on to newer macrophage cells. Any leftover pigment is soaked up by fibroblasts, which are longer-lasting skin cells that don’t regenerate as often.

4. Stress Affects Your Skin Just As It Affects Your Mind

Stress triggers a high level of cortisol and inflammatory molecules called cytokines that spread throughout the body. These break down the collagen inside your body and thus directly impact your skin. Some people may even experience reoccurring skin problems because of stress – one great example of this is seborrheic dermatitis. 

So do yourself a favor and stay as far away from stressful situations as much as you can. You’ll have smoother skin and the intact collagen will help it stay more hydrated and feel younger and more elastic for years to come.

5. Egyptians Used to Put Salt and Other Foods In Their Wounds

Yeah, you knew from the headline that there would be something nasty in this article. Well, they did have a reason for this. When you break through the epidermis, you can expose the inner tissue to pathogens.

Ancient Egyptians were aware of this and came up with a seemingly unsanitary method. However, recent studies have shown that what they did was actually ingenious. Salt, fresh meat, moldy bread, or onions would stop pathogens in different ways. 

Meat has high iron content, so it coagulates blood. Salt and onions are both astringent, which can stop blood flow. And moldy bread has antibacterial properties, basically acting like early-days penicillin. In short, these things did a phenomenal job.

The Bottom Line

Which fact did you find the most interesting? Which one did you already know about? Leave us a comment down below and share other interesting facts with the rest of our community. Also, don’t forget to share us on Facebook and other social platforms if you like what you’ve read.