The Phat Layer

Haven't updated in a while... sorry about that. School has kept me busy! Working on clients is awesome!!

Now for the "phat" layer (since that is where we left off)...

The Subcutaneous layer (the bottom most layer), made of adipose (fatty) tissue, provides a protective cushion, give the body a smoothness and shape and is a source of energy (food) for the body.

Here's a pic to bring it all together! (Remember, top layer= epidermis, middle layer= dermis, bottom layer= subcutaneous)

Today we learned how to use the Ultra Sonic Machine, which looks like a snow plow driving through a snowy road; you can see the flecks of dead skin sloughing off (like snow getting pushed away by a snow plow). The machine looks like a dull, small, metal spatula, and uses high frequency sound to vibrate the spatula/blade really fast. People who are sensitive to sounds can hear the high pitch sound when it's on, which is slightly irritating, but well worth the results. The results are immediate and quite amazing! It immediately helps to get rid of fine lines, through deep exfoliation, and aids in making the skin more supple (by pushing product further into the skin). It literally takes years off your skin!

Now for some pictures (sorry for the quality, they were taken on a phone)...


Until next time...
(Pictures: Top Left, practicing extractions!, Middle Left, learning with Ms. Sherry, Middle Right, more extractions!, Bottom Left, practicing some make-up techniques!)

The True Skin

Only one more week until we start working on real clients! Exciting!!


A little about the "true" skin...

The Dermis, or "true" skin is 25 times thicker than the Epidermis. It provides structure and nourishment to the skin. It is made of two distinct layers: the Papillary Dermis and the Reticular Dermis.

The Papillary Dermis... think "push" as in touch as in sensory receptors! The Papillary Dermis is made up of a lot of receptors:

1. Thermoreceptors ("thermostat") detect hot and cold
2. Mechanoreceptors sense touch, pressure, or vibration
3. Sensation receptors : There are four sensation receptors (that have really random names btw... and incidentally I thought up totally random ways to remember them...)
1. Meissner's Corpuscles are responsible for light pressure and cold receptors --> a way to remember.... "M"eissner->Manilla->Vanilla->Light and Cold (like Vanilla ice cream)
2. Ruffini's Corpuscles are long-term pressure and heat receptors... "R"uffini's -> Robot Dance -> Long-term and HOT (robot dances are long term and hott! haha)
3. Pacinian Corpuscles are responsible for deep pressure and pain receptors ... "P"acinian -> Pain and Pressure -> deep pressure and pain
4. Krause's End Bulbs are responsible for pressure and pain receptors... "K"racking Bulbs causes pressure and pain!

The Reticular Dermis is the lowest layer of the Dermis. It contains a lot of glands....

1. Sweat glands (two types):
1. Aprocrine glands: found in the underarms, in the genitals and in the nipples. They secrete and oderless ubstance that is triggered by emotions (oddly enough, right?). These secretions become stinky when they start to fight off bacteria on the skin (i.e. B.O.).
2. Eccrine glands: are found in the entire body, but are most abundent in the forehead, palms of the hands and soles of the feet and are mainly responsible for thermoregulation (controlling/lowering the body's temperature by sweating). They are influenced by the Sympathetic Nervous System (think fight or flight... increased heart rate, blood flow, sweating, and respiration). There are two types of eccrine glands:
1. Endocrine glands, which release hormones and are known as "ductless."
2. and the Exocrine glands, which are similar to the sweat/sebaceous glands. They release secretions into ducts and the ducts deposit these secretions onto the surface of the skin.
2. Oil (Sebaceous) Gland:
1. Sebaceous glands continuously produce sebum (oil). They are found everywhere, except the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands. They are most abundent in the forehead, nose (i.e. T-zone), and back. A few interesting things about sebaceous glands...
1. Sebaceous glands are attached to the upper third of each hair follicle. In facial hair there are 2-3 more sebaceous glands than there are in scalp hair follicles (which is why break-outs typically occur on the face and no in the hair).
2. The amount of sebum produce is influenced by the male hormone Androgen (which is found in men and women). Since it is more abundant in men, it is common to find larger sebaceous glands in men.

Alright enough of that! Now some pictures!

Practicing some facial techniques on classmates

Group shot!

Watching Ms. Sherry do a skin analysis!

Make-up tip: brush a little of your eyeshadow over a tissue, over your lipstick and it will last longer!

And finally... a hilarious clip of a leg wax... enjoy!

Until next time!

Eww your Epidermis is showing!!

Anatomy of the skin today!

The skin is broken up into three layers: the Epidermis, the Dermis and the Subcutaneous. Our (esthetician's) scope of practice is in the Epidermis only!

The Epidermis is made up of five layers, three of which are composed of dead cells: Stratum Corneum (dead), Stratum Lucidum (dead), Stratum Granulosum (dead), Stratum Spinosum and Stratum Germinativum. The Stratum Spinosum and the Stratum Germinativum are considered one layer, the Basal layer. (So, technically there are four layers). Keratinization is when live cells are converted into dead protein cells. Since the first three layers are dead, this is where Keratinization occurs (it starts in the Stratum Granulosum and works up).

A way to remember each layer:
Stratum Corneum is rough or "corn-y."
Stratum Lucidum is clear or "transLUCID."
Stratum Granulosum is "Gran-y (grainy)" and has tiny granuals.
Stratum Spinosum is "spiny" and has spiny layers.
Stratum Germinativum is always "germinating" or reproducing through mitosis.
And a way to remember the order:
Comodones Like Getting Squeezed Good!!
(Corneum Lucidum Granulosum Spinosum Germinativum)

Enough of that! Here's some pictures!!

Make-up Demo!

 

Ooo! Look at that fancy make-up belt! 

  During make-up (above), before (left), and after (right, below).

 

Practicing Facials!!  

  

Back Facial!!  

All made up! 

More pictures next time! 

Until next time... 

Ants and Cats

Ants are bad (negative) = Anaphoresis and Cats are good (positive) = Cataphoresis ! 

Today was all about the Galvanic machine, which helps open and soften the pores through Anaphoresis, and close the pores and push product into the epidermis through Cataphoresis. Lots of new vocab, but really interesting. The Galvanic machine basically is creating a DC circuit (see left). In class, the results were pretty amazing!

Then we practiced everything we have learned so far, because Freshman Class is almost over (eek!!)!

Picture of an oatmeal mask and paraffin hand treatments! Oatmeal masks are super-hydrating, healing and they smell like breakfast! 

Ingredient Definition of the Day: methoxy propyl gluconamide* is an alpha hydroxyacid derivative used as a moisturizer and an emollient (a substance that soften and soothes the skin. Used to correct dryness and scaling of the skin, and is a key component in the manufacture of lipstick, lotions). Its minimal acidity favors its use on dry and very dry, scaly skin surfaces, where other alpha hydroxyacid compounds may not be well tolerated.

*Found in Milady's Skin Care and Cosmestics Ingredients Dictionary and Wikipedia.

More pictures tomorrow...

until next time... :)

Shockingly (A)peeling

Zits? Comedones? One zap with the high frequency and your open/closed comedones will disappear (dry up)! I must say, quite a fabulous invention.

Lesson of the day: Be wary of doing extractions after a glycolic peel on someone who has slightly sensitive prone skin!

Pictures coming tomorrow!

'til next time...

New Blog!

Hi blog-sphere!

Miss Sherry and the girls thought it would be fun for us to make a blog to chart our course through the SBCC Cosmetology Academy Esthetician program.

So... here it goes!