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As a dermatologist, I am confronted daily with questions that are visible on the surface, but whose solution often requires a look beneath the surface, namely where the individual skin cells communicate with each other.
My motivation: If the cellular balance is right deep within the skin, it will also be right on the surface – the virtual face of my brand is therefore the "happy life" of every skin cell in a harmonious environment where all skin cells can perform their functions in a finely tuned and coordinated manner. In addition to Merkel cells, special sensory cells in the epidermis that are responsible for pressure and tactile sensations, there are four important cell types in the skin, which I would like to briefly and simply describe here.
"The virtual face of my brand is the prosperity of every single skin cell."
Prof. Dr. Steinkraus
In the skin's engine room, the dermis, a relatively unexplored cell, the fibroblast, holds the reins. It produces collagen, hyaluronic acid, and many other substances. The activity of the fibroblast determines the skin's tone, expression, and evenness.
Our skin colour is determined by the presence and activity of pigment cells (melanocytes). All people have the same number of melanocytes. The colour differences arise from the varying density and size of the pigment granules. Melanocytes produce the brown pigment of our skin, melanin, which is distributed to the surrounding cells so that they can protect the sensitive DNA from the damaging effects of UV light (the sun).
One of the most important cells for our health is the Langerhans cell, discovered in 1867 by a medical student (Paul Langerhans). It lies in a comprehensive network directly beneath the skin's surface and uses its tentacles (dendrites) to capture foreign bodies that penetrate the skin. The cells then consume them and migrate to the nearest lymph node to present them to the immune system. Their incredible ability lies in encoding the foreign bodies in such a way that our immune system understands that they are foreign bodies. Only once the immune system has understood this can a targeted and effective fight against the invaders begin. We should be grateful to our skin for having such a network of intelligent protective cells.
The keratinocytes of the epidermis are the most important building blocks of our body's outer layer. They are tightly packed together in a closed network that completely renews itself every four weeks. We could give every person on earth one of our keratinocytes and still have some left, meaning we have billions of them. Every day, we lose millions of them without even noticing. Good skin care helps the keratinocytes fulfill their most important function: maintaining a protective barrier. This prevents valuable substances from being lost and harmful substances from penetrating our skin.
Cell biology is fascinating, and the beauty of the cells shown here is captivating. Their harmonious interplay is the linchpin of healthy skin and thus the core of vitality, radiance, and beauty.