Do you feel your skin is not radiant as it once was? Does your skin get a little rough with every passing day? Is that dull and rough skin forcing you to hide your body in a coat in winter or put heavy makeup on to hide blackheads? All these problems are responsible for making you feel less confident and are due to dead skin cells. Cells cover the entire human skin. These cells die to replace with healthier ones, but all dead cells don’t leave your body. Instead, these dead skin cells stay on top of your skin, causing severe problems. The problem starts from clogging pores and often leads to hair loss, grimy feet, and breakouts are few to mention. Therefore, it is necessary to understand dead skin cells and their causes for choosing effective treatment for healthier skin.
What are Dead Skin Cells?
Our body consists of skin sebaceous glands that naturally produce hydrating oil. These glands have a natural built-in process that helps produce new cells and shed the dead ones as they grow old but never forgetting the heroic protection of the body.
The body’s outermost layer is a powerhouse of the formation of skin cells composed of Keratin protein. To complete its life cycle, a skin cell travels from the outermost layer to the dermis and reaches the topmost layer, called “Dead Skin Cells.” At this point, the cell dies and sheds off from the skin, and the process is termed “Desquamation.”
Research has highlighted that almost 40,000 cells/hour are shed off by desquamation, and every cell takes one month to reach the desquamation stage.
How do Dead Skin Cells Affect Your Healthy Skin?
How much dead skin cells affect your healthy skin depends on the number of dead cells accumulated in your skin. Dead skin in smaller amounts is like coast guards that retain moisture of your skin and push foreign particles out, just like pirates are thrown out of the sea. Shedding off too much dead skin leads to dryness while accumulating too many dead cells makes your skin oily, dull & sensitive.
What are the Indicators of Dead Skin Cells?
Dark Cells make the first 18-23 layers of our skin. Improper shedding leads to the following symptoms:
- Dry & Dull Skin
- Rough & Thick
- Itching
- Acne
- Breakouts
Where the Dead Skin Cells are present in your Body?
The dead skin cells are present at the following places in your body:
Tongue
The dead skin cells pile up on tiny projections of your tongue’s surface that contain taste buds. This piling up results in causing white tongue, yellow tongue & black tongue.
White Tongue
Death cells get trapped between the papillae of our tongue’s surfaces. As a result, it grows large, swelling up, often causing inflammation, creating a white patch on your tongue.
Yellow Tongue
It is discoloration of the tongue due to the building up of dead skin cells on your tongue. It is a harmless condition with symptoms including bad breath, bumps on the tongue, burning sensation, bad taste & dry mouth.
Black Hairy Tongue
It is a harmless and temporary condition that gives furry and black color to your tongue. The symptoms include discoloration, hairy appearance, bad breath, metallic taste & tickling sensation.
Lips
The skin on the lips is slightly thinner than other body skin, which is prone to dryness and cracking, leading to dead cell accumulation on the lips. It gives a white appearance to your lips.
Eyebrows
The dead skin cells around eyebrows are often called “Eyebrow dandruff.” It is a common and chronic condition that needs not be worried about. If the area is scratched continuously, it may lead to the loss of eyebrow hairs.
Face
The accumulation of dead skin cells on the face makes it dry and dull. Using chemically enriched scrubs/makeup or prolonged exposure to sunlight increases the chances of dead cell accumulation in face skin.
Ear
An abnormal collection of dead skin cells in the middle cells leads to “Cholesteatoma.” The dead cells collect in the middle ear and form cysts-like pockets behind the eardrums. It impairs the hearing, balance, and facial muscles of a person. It is more common in males than in females.
Legs
The accumulation of dead skin cells on the legs causes patches on the surface of the legs, which in severe cases may extend to other body parts, including arms, abdomen, and back. The dead cells accumulate in a pattern similar to fish’s scale, and the condition is called “Ichthyosis Vulgaris.” A few symptoms are itching and brown/white/grey scales with extremely dry and thickened skin.
The Last Note
All of us want baby skin to have a soft touch and pinky appearance, but the accumulation of death makes this dream difficult to translate into reality. However, one can easily find effective treatments for healthy skin by understanding the symptoms of dead skin.
