Skin Trivia

1. Skin is the body’s largest organ. The skin of the average woman weighs three kilograms, while that of the average man weighs five kilograms.

2. The skin cells are continually flaking off at rate of 35,000 dead skin cells per minute. In a year, you’ll shed around four kilograms of skin cells.

3. Human skin consists of 19 million cells, 60 hairs, 90 oil glands, 19 feet of blood vessels, 625 sweat glands, and 19,000 sensory cells each square inch!

4. Human skin has about 100,000 bacteria each square centimeter, and that 10 percent of human dry weight is attributed to bacteria. These bacteria, however, are not harmful, and are called normal skin flora.

5. The average person’s skin renews itself every 28 days.

6. The average scalp has 100,000 hairs. We shed about 50 -100 hairs from our head everyday.

7. Sweat from the apocrine glands (located in the underarm and genital areas) is odorless, and body odor actually results from the reaction of the skin’s normal bacteria with sweat.

8. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, and is usually seen on the head or neck in people 40 years of age or older. basal cell carcinoma presents as pearl-colored bumps that may increase in size and bleed easily. See your doctor if you suspect basal cell carcinoma.