Mystery of the century: Why is the face the worst skin on the whole body?

Have you ever had the same confusion:

I have spent a lot of money on skin care products and I take good care of my skin every day, but the skin on my face is not as smooth and delicate as I imagined. It is even worse than my arms and legs, which are just covered with body lotion. I have thought countless times whether I can transplant the skin from my legs to my face...

What went wrong? Why is the skin on the face always worse than the skin on other parts of the body?

We have sorted out several common reasons~

The "natural deficiencies" of facial skin

1

The "face" is really thin

The facial skin is one of the thinnest parts of the human body. It is more delicate, thinner, and more susceptible to irritation than most of the skin on the body. For example, the average thickness of the skin on the forehead of an adult is only 2.9 mm, while the thickness of the back can be as high as 5.9 mm. Therefore, no matter how thick the skin on your face is, it cannot catch up with the skin on your back.

2

Effects of sebaceous glands

There is a gland on our skin called the sebaceous gland, which maintains the barrier function of the skin by secreting sebum. Sebaceous glands are widely distributed throughout the body, mainly concentrated in the head, face, chest, and between the shoulder blades, and are particularly abundant on the face.

However, the secretion of sebaceous glands can be affected by many factors. Temperature, hormones, diet... may cause it to malfunction, so the more sebaceous glands you have, the more skin problems you will have.

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The terms "dry skin" and "oily skin" that we often talk about in our daily lives are also related to this. Whether it is dry skin or oily skin, it will make the facial skin look abnormal.

Dry skin is characterized by a lack of sufficient moisture and oil, a rough surface, lack of elasticity, and is prone to dryness, peeling, itching, fine lines and even skin cracking.

Oily skin can also make the skin look unhealthy. The skin secretes too much oil and is shiny. Not only does it give people a greasy feeling, but it is also prone to large pores and acne on the face.

External influences:

Damage from ultraviolet rays

The facial skin is also one of the most exposed parts of the body and is susceptible to damage from the sun (UV rays).

Don't underestimate the impact of sun exposure on skin health. Short-term sun exposure can tan or burn the skin, while long-term sun exposure can cause photoaging, which is quite lethal.

As people age, the effects of photoaging will gradually emerge, specifically manifested as:

**Pigmentation: **Pigmentation may occur on the skin, the most common manifestation of which is sun spots, medically known as solar lentigo. In addition, sun exposure can also aggravate other pigmentation spots such as chloasma.

**Sagging skin: **Ultraviolet rays can destroy collagen and elastic fibers, causing the skin to lose elasticity and become sagging.

**Fine lines: **If you are exposed to the sun frequently, the skin in exposed areas (such as the corners of the eyes, between the eyebrows, forehead, etc.) will be more prone to wrinkles, fine lines and other signs of aging.

**Large pores: **A major cause of enlarged pores is long-term sun exposure. If you have oily skin, it is really "adding insult to injury". Some people's pores are so large that you can plant rice seedlings.

In addition, long-term sun exposure will make you more susceptible to related skin diseases, such as age spots (seborrheic keratosis), and even the risk of skin cancer will be many times higher than that of ordinary people.

Facial skin problems

Makes skin worse

Due to various factors, whether it is lifestyle habits or environmental influences, some common skin problems are more likely to appear on the face, making the skin worse.

There are two common types of problem skin: one is called sensitive skin and the other is called cosmetic dermatitis.

Sensitive skin means that the skin is more sensitive, and subjectively there will be a variety of uncomfortable experiences, such as burning, prickling, itching, dryness, and tightness. Objectively there may also be external manifestations, such as redness, peeling, red blood streaks, and small particles.

This situation is very common. About 1/3 of women in my country have sensitive skin.

Facial peeling. Copyright image from the gallery. Reproduction may lead to copyright disputes.

Cosmetic dermatitis refers to a large category of adverse skin reactions caused by external products. It is essentially a skin inflammation caused by product irritation or allergy. The classic manifestation is redness and itching at the application site.

If skin problems recur, the first thing to do is to avoid using the suspect product again and then seek medical attention.

How to improve facial skin problems

To maintain the health of facial skin, good living habits and correct skin care methods are important.

1

Avoid bad habits such as staying up late, smoking, and prolonged sun exposure

Staying up late, unhealthy diet, smoking, prolonged sun exposure or overexposure to the sun, these lifestyle habits will have a negative impact on skin health, which will often be reflected on the face.

To elaborate, people who don't get enough sleep have more obvious fine lines around their eyes; people who lose weight excessively have looser skin; people who smoke a lot have more obvious bags under their eyes and lip lines; people who get too much sun will have various types of photoaging on their skin.

The 71-year-old twins, the younger sister on the right has been living in the countryside working as a farmer, and is exposed to a lot of ultraviolet rays every day; while the older sister on the left has been living in the city, and is not exposed to much or strong ultraviolet rays. The younger sister who is exposed to a lot of ultraviolet rays all year round obviously looks much older than the older sister who is not exposed to much or strong ultraviolet rays.

2

Correctly view and use skin care products

First of all, don’t have too high expectations for skin care products. In fact, it often takes a while to achieve significant results. Skin care requires persistence over time to maintain healthy skin for a long time.

Moreover, skin care products are almost incapable of helping with facial problems such as nasolabial folds, forehead wrinkles, and noticeable sagging skin. If you want to improve them, you can only rely on medical beauty.

When it comes to the use of skin care products, there is actually no standard answer, but a relatively good point of view is to simplify skin care, less is more. The basic principle is cleansing, moisturizing and sun protection.

clean:

It is to safely and effectively clean the skin surface, including dead cells, bacteria, pollutants and sebum. It is generally recommended to choose a weakly acidic or neutral cleansing product, and it is not recommended to use alkaline ones, such as soap and soap.

Moisturizing:

It is to maintain the skin barrier function and reduce the loss of skin moisture. If your skin is prone to dryness, flaking, tightness, or accompanied by dermatitis, sensitive skin and other problems, you can use reliable moisturizing products as needed.

Sun protection:

Not only can it prevent sunburn and tanning, but long-term sun protection can also reduce skin photoaging, making you look younger and healthier. For example, the face is easily exposed to the sun, so you can apply sunscreen, use a sun umbrella, and wear sun-protective clothing that can protect your face (If you want to know how to choose sun-protective clothing, you can review the previous content "What is the difference between sun-protective clothing that costs tens of yuan and hundreds of yuan? Don't waste your money after reading this!").

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3

If you have facial skin problems, seek medical treatment actively

Common skin problems such as acne, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, etc. can also affect the condition of the skin. In this case, it is more important to use symptomatic medication and treat the disease according to the disease.

I wish each of us has good skin!

References

[1] Yang X, Cui Y, Yue J, et al. The histological characteristics, age-related thickness change of skin, and expression of the HSPs in the skin during hair cycle in yak (Bos grunniens). PLoS One. 2017; 12(5): e0176451.

[2] He Li, Zheng Jie, Ma Huiqun, et al. Chinese expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of sensitive skin[J]. Chinese Journal of Dermatology and Venereology. 2017; 31(1): 1-4.

[3] Hawkins SS, Subramanyan K, Liu D, et al. Cleansing, moisturizing, and sun-protection regimens for normal skin, self-perceived sensitive skin, and dermatologist-assessed sensitive skin. Dermatol Ther. 2004; 17 Suppl 1: 63-68.

[4] TODAY. Effects of smoking, sun and stress on the skin of twins. https://www.today.com/slideshow/today/effects-of-smoking-sun-and-stress-on-the-skin-of-twins-33422340/

[5] Heather L. Brannon. The basics of healthy skin care. https://www.verywellhealth.com/skin-care-101-1069529. Apr 16, 2020.

Planning and production

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, MD, Chief Physician of Dermatology

Review | Feng Jun, Deputy Chief Physician, Dermatology Department, General Hospital of Datong Coal Mine Group Co., Ltd.

Planning｜Yang Yaping

Editor: Yang Yaping

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