Anyone who has spent enough time doing dishes, soaking in a hot
tub, or swimming in a warm pool has seen the skin in their fingers and
toes become white and wrinkly. This phenomenon is sometimes called
pruning, or water aging. When this happens, the skin tends to appear
puffy, and lose much of the sensation that it normally has –
particularly the fingertips, which are normally very sensitive. When
the skin is no longer immersed in water, it begins to return to normal,
and soon, there are no signs of the wrinkly, puffy skin that was there
earlier. Though it is a common occurrence, and one to which we normally
don’t give much thought, scientists are still at odds over the
explanation for this phenomenon.
Human skin is comprised of three layers. The deepest layer is called the subcutaneous tissue, which contains fats, connective tissue, nerves and large blood vessels. The middle layer is the dermis, which contains the hair follicles, more nerves, smaller blood vessels, and sweat glands. The top layer, the epidermis, is the layer which protects the underlying layers from harm, and helps to regulate water evaporating from the body. There are four layers in the epidermis, the topmost of which is the stratum corneum. This is the layer which is visible, and which contains keratin, a protein which is present in fingernails and hair.
The epidermis is capable of absorbing large quantities of water, but usually doesn’t because the skin is covered with an oily substance called sebum. It is this substance which leaves an imprint behind when you touch something, and creates fingerprints on surfaces. After prolonged periods of time in the water, much of the sebum is washed away, which makes the skin more prone to absorbing water. This is why skin doesn’t start to wrinkle right away when it’s submerged in water, but takes some time to do so. It is also thought that sebum is produced in areas where there is a concentration of hair, and the fingertips, palms of the hands and feet typically lack any hair, so there is less sebum there to prevent the skin from absorbing water.
It is thought that the toughness of the outer layer of skin is due to the keratin present therein, and that it is the keratin which prevents the skin from swelling uniformly when it is submerged. As a result, the increased surface area of the skin causes it to wrinkle. The reason why the wrinkling affects the hands and feet, but not other areas of the body, is that the fingertips and bottoms of our feet have the thickest skin, and the highest concentration of keratin. Another theory is that because the epidermis is connected to the dermis in some spots, but not everywhere, the spots that are not connected tend to swell more; as a result, some areas of the skin swell more than others, producing the wrinkle effect.
Some scientists have also linked the effect of water-related wrinkling to a process called vasoconstriction. This theory posits that the nervous system plays a role in the wrinkling process. In 1935, two doctors named Lewis and Pickering studied patients with palsy of the median nerve, and noticed that water-related wrinkling did not occur in areas of the patients’ skin which were normally innervated by the damaged nerve; as a result, they drew the conclusion that the phenomenon of water aging could not be explained by simple water absorption alone, but that the sympathetic nervous system played a part in the process as well. This theory, however, has not been completely proven. Regardless of the reason for the wrinkling or pruning process, the skin returns to normal after some time out of the water, and it appears that there are no adverse effects, aside from cosmetic concerns.
Reblogged from: http://botoxalternative.co/
Human skin is comprised of three layers. The deepest layer is called the subcutaneous tissue, which contains fats, connective tissue, nerves and large blood vessels. The middle layer is the dermis, which contains the hair follicles, more nerves, smaller blood vessels, and sweat glands. The top layer, the epidermis, is the layer which protects the underlying layers from harm, and helps to regulate water evaporating from the body. There are four layers in the epidermis, the topmost of which is the stratum corneum. This is the layer which is visible, and which contains keratin, a protein which is present in fingernails and hair.
The epidermis is capable of absorbing large quantities of water, but usually doesn’t because the skin is covered with an oily substance called sebum. It is this substance which leaves an imprint behind when you touch something, and creates fingerprints on surfaces. After prolonged periods of time in the water, much of the sebum is washed away, which makes the skin more prone to absorbing water. This is why skin doesn’t start to wrinkle right away when it’s submerged in water, but takes some time to do so. It is also thought that sebum is produced in areas where there is a concentration of hair, and the fingertips, palms of the hands and feet typically lack any hair, so there is less sebum there to prevent the skin from absorbing water.
It is thought that the toughness of the outer layer of skin is due to the keratin present therein, and that it is the keratin which prevents the skin from swelling uniformly when it is submerged. As a result, the increased surface area of the skin causes it to wrinkle. The reason why the wrinkling affects the hands and feet, but not other areas of the body, is that the fingertips and bottoms of our feet have the thickest skin, and the highest concentration of keratin. Another theory is that because the epidermis is connected to the dermis in some spots, but not everywhere, the spots that are not connected tend to swell more; as a result, some areas of the skin swell more than others, producing the wrinkle effect.
Some scientists have also linked the effect of water-related wrinkling to a process called vasoconstriction. This theory posits that the nervous system plays a role in the wrinkling process. In 1935, two doctors named Lewis and Pickering studied patients with palsy of the median nerve, and noticed that water-related wrinkling did not occur in areas of the patients’ skin which were normally innervated by the damaged nerve; as a result, they drew the conclusion that the phenomenon of water aging could not be explained by simple water absorption alone, but that the sympathetic nervous system played a part in the process as well. This theory, however, has not been completely proven. Regardless of the reason for the wrinkling or pruning process, the skin returns to normal after some time out of the water, and it appears that there are no adverse effects, aside from cosmetic concerns.
Reblogged from: http://botoxalternative.co/
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