A Beauty Therapist is a professionally trained individual, who specializes in beauty and wellness services, and offers services from head to toe in order to improve a person’s overall appearance. The therapist performs skincare, make-up, depilation, manicure and pedicure services. The person must have knowledge of beauty and wellness, safety and hygiene standards to be followed in a salon, beauty products, and a range of beauty services that are available in market. This Unit gives an insight into anatomy and physiology of the skin and skincare services that are performed by the Beauty Therapist, such as cleansing, application of toners and skin fresheners, application of moisturizers, and bleaching. In order to provide effective skincare services, the person must have knowledge about the basic anatomy and physiology of the skin. The students will also learn to identify the skin type. A make-up must be suggested based on a client’s skin type. The students must also understand the effects of voluntary movements of face, neck and shoulder muscles.
Anatomy and Physiology of the Skin
The Beauty Therapist needs to be aware of the basic anatomy and physiology of the skin in order to provide effective skincare services. ‘Skin’ is the protective or outer covering of the body. It is a waterproof, insulating shield, guarding the body against extremes of temperature, sunlight and harmful chemicals.
Skin: The skin acts as a protective shield for the body. The Beauty Therapist needs to be aware of the basic anatomy and physiology of the skin in order to provide effective skincare services to clients.
Anatomy: It refers to the structure of the human body and the relationship of different body parts with each other.
Physiology: It is the study of the function of different body parts and the body as a whole.
Layers of the skin
The skin consists of three layers.
- Epidermis
- Dermis
- Hypo-dermis or subcutis
Epidermis
Epidermis is the outermost or epithelial layer of the skin. It is a waterproof protective layer that covers the body and serves as a barrier to infections. It prevents loss of water from the body. The epidermis also prevents the entry of foreign bodies into the body. It does not have direct blood supply as
Epidermis
Dermis
Hypo-dermis
Fig. 2.1: Layers of the skin
it contains no blood vessels, and all nutrients are transferred to it from the dermis. The epidermis has three main type of cells. They are:
- Keratinocytes (skin cells)
- Melanocytes (pigment producing cells)
- Langerhans (immune cells)
Stratum carenum
Fig. 2.2: Uppermost layer of skin — epidermis
Keratinocytes
Keratinocytes become more mature or differentiated and accumulate keratin as they move outwards. They eventually fall or rub off. A specialised structure lies between the epidermis and dermis. It includes various protein structures, linking the basal layer of keratinocytes to the basement membrane (hemidesmosomes) and the basement membrane to the underlying dermis (anchoring fibrils). The basement membrane ensures that the epidermis sticks firmly to the underlying dermis.
Melanocytes
These are found in the basal layer of the epidermis. These cells produce a black-coloured pigment called ‘melanin’, which is responsible for skin pigmentation. Melanin is packaged into small parcels called ‘melanosomes’, which are then transferred to keratinocytes. Melanin protects the skin against ultraviolet rays.
Fig. 2.3: Melanocytes in epidermis
Langerhans
These are the immune cells found in the epidermis. These are responsible for helping the body identify ‘allergens’ (material foreign to the body).
Other type of cells found in epidermis
Merkel cells These are found in the basal layer of the epidermis. Special immune-histochemical stains are needed to visualise merkel cells, which are also known as ‘merkel-ranvier cells’ or ‘tactile epithelial cells’. These are oval-shaped mechanoreceptors necessary for light touch sensation and found in the skin of vertebrates. However, their exact role and function is not understood.