Skin

The body's outer covering that protects us against heat and light, injury and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. The skin is the body's largest organ and it weighs about 6 pounds. It is made up of two main layers; the epidermis and the dermis.

The epidermis (outer layer of skin) is made up of flat scale-like scales called squamous cells. The epidermis also contains melanocytes. these cells produce melanin, which gives skin its color.

The dermis (inner layer of skin) contains blood and lymph vessels, hair follicles and glands. The glands produce sweat, which helps regulate body temperature and sebum, an oily substance that helps keep the skin from drying out. Sweat and sebum reach the skin's surface through tiny openings called pores.

How Massage Effects the Skin

• Massage helps in increasing blood circulation, exfoliating dead skin cells, toning, maintaining the collagen fibers, increasing the activity of sweat and sebaceous glands and encouraging its renewal process.
• Improved circulation to the skin, increased nutrition to the cells and encouraging cell regeneration.
• Increased production of sweat from the sweat glands, helping to excrete urea and waste products from the skin.
• Vaso-dilation of the surface capillaries helping to improve the skin's colour
• Improved elasticity of the skin.
• Increased sebum production, helping to improve the skin's suppleness and resistance to infection.
• At the epidermis level (first non-irrigated skin layer), repeated friction efficiently removes dead skin cells.
• Allows pores to open and therefore perform better.
• Consequence of repeated friction, skin redness (hyperemia), indicates increased flow in blood vessels and thus an improved blood circulation.
• High quality natural or oraganic products based massage oils and lotions improve skin elasticity, smootheness and quality.