What makes our skin?

SKIN

Collagen makes up 70% of the skin. It is the main structural protein in the skin, and its fibres act as scaffolding to give skin strength and maintain elasticity. Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen. Collagen production is badly affected by skin damage, smoking and eating too much sugar, causing wrinkling and sagging.

Elastin, which is the skins other main fibrous protein, gives skin its bounce. Collagen and Elastin fibres become less flexible over time because of damage my free radicals.

Antioxidant vitamins A, C, E and minerals such as selenium limit damage caused by free radicals. A normal skin should be composed roughly of 70% living cells and 30% dead cells. At the age of 40 only 30% of skin cells are still active.

The epidermis never stops growing from the bottom layer up. Dead skin cells are usually shed invisibly from the surface (the dead cell layer is called the stratum corneum). On average it takes between 50-75 days for a complete cycle from the development of new skin cells until they are shed.

Essential fatty (such as those in seeds, nuts and oily fish) are vital for healthy skin to maintain the membranes of skin cells.