Dermis

The nerve endings in your dermis tell you how things feel when you touch them. Is it the soft or hard, cold or hot?

The nerve endings work with your brain, nervous system, and muscles. So if you touch something dangerous your nerves carry the message from the brain to your muscles for you to respond. For example if you touch something hot, you will remove your hand in a split second.

Your dermis is also full of tiny blood vessels. These keep your skin cells healthy by bringing them the oxygen and nutrients they need and by taking away waste. As you get older, the dermis gets thinner and transparent.

The dermis is home to sebaceous oil glands that are always producing sebum, your skin's natural oil. It rises to the surface of your epidermis to lubricate, protect and waterproof your skin.

You also have sweat glands on your epidermis. Even though you can't feel it, you actually sweat a tiny bit all the time. The sweat comes up through pores tiny holes in the skin that allow it to escape. When the sebum meets the sweat, they form a sticky protective film on the skin called the "acid mantle". It protects against environmental factors such as the sun and wind and leaves it less prone to dehydration.

The acid mantle, the combination of sebum (oil) and perspiration, on the skin's surface protects the skin and renders the skin less vulnerable to damage.

The dermis gives the skin its elasticity and strength, but it also needs to be protected from the sun and other environmental elements. The loss of elasticity of the dermis is a feature of aging, characterized by sagging and wrinkling of the skin.

The dermis also varies in thickness depending on the location of the skin. It is .3 mm on the eyelid and 3.0 mm on the back.

Skin pH And The Acid Mantle

"Skin pH" is a chemist's term meaning "Potential of Hydrogen" and is used to measure the degree of acidity or alkalinity in the outer layers of the skin. It is measured on a scale from 0 to 14 where the center of the scale, 7, is neutrality (neither acid nor alkaline). A reading below 7 indicates that the substance being measured is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. Normal skin pH is somewhat acidic and in the range of 4.2. to 5.6. It varies from one part of the body to another and, in general, the pH of a man's skin is lower (more acidic) than a woman's. The acid mantle inhibits the growth of foreign bacteria and fungi causing the skin to remain healthier and have fewer blemishes. Acne, allergies and other skin problems become more severe when the skin becomes more alkaline.

The pH system works in 10-fold multiples and each pH unit represents a 10-fold difference in alkalinity. For example, a soap with a pH of 10.5 has 10-times the alkalinity of a soap of pH 9.5. "Mild" soaps are often alkaline (pH 9.5-11), and remove the natural acid protection as well as extracting protective lipids (fats) from the skin. Irritated and eczematous skins tend to have a more alkaline pH, and washing with soap can increase this alkaline state and make the skin even more vulnerable to irritation and infection.

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RELATED INFORMATION

The three layers of the skin are

Epidermis »

Dermis 

Subcutaneous Layer »