For far too long, it’s been believed that how we wash our bodies and the products we use should be identical to how we care for our faces. However, this can’t be the furthest from the truth. In fact, facial and body skin couldn’t be more different from one another, and treating them in the same fashion can actually worsen existing blemishes. As such, if you’re going to look and feel healthy from head to toe, it’s vital that you understand these variances and make the necessary adjustments. Read on to learn the difference between face skin and body skin and how to change your safe-care routine to fit their respective needs.

Primary Differentiating Features

Though it might look and feel the same to you, there are several key differences between the skin on your face and that on other parts of your body. These discrepancies sit at the cellular level and deal with the functioning of each individual skin component. However, while they can’t be seen with the naked eye, these features completely change how your skin looks and behaves on the surface. Here are some of the top differences to consider when comparing your face skin to your body skin.

Size of the Cells

Firstly, it’s important to note that the side of your skin cells varies depending on where they’re located on your body. This is because the larger the surface area that needs to be covered, the larger the cells need to be to effectively protect it. Facial cells are very small, which is what often makes that skin more sensitive. On the other hand, body skin cells are much larger to trap in vital nutrients and protect our most essential veins and organs.

Cell Turnover Rate

The respective parts of the body also experience variances in their cell turnover rate. Areas that have more exposure to the elements—like the face, neck, and chest—sustain more damage from the wind and sun than those hidden under clothing. This damage promotes faster cell decay and therefore results in a quicker turnaround of healthier cells. On the other hand, since much of your body skin is protected by your clothes, it doesn’t need to shed dead cells as quickly.

Overall Skin Thickness

Another key difference between face skin and body skin is how thick each layer of cells is. Every part of the body has a certain amount of fat that sits between the skin and the muscle tissue. The thinner this layer of fat and muscle is, the thinner the skin will be as a result. This is why the skin on a person’s face is much thinner than that on their arm or leg. Thickness plays a critical role in how durable a section of skin will be, as well as in the effectiveness of certain skincare products.

Number of Oil Glands

Though oil glands are dispersed across our bodies in order to keep our skin sufficiently hydrated, they aren’t spaced evenly. Believe it or not, we actually have more oil glands on the surface of our faces than we do on the rest of our bodies. This is to make up for the fact that the skin in this area is so thin. Since facial skin loses moisture much quicker, it needs a larger supply of oil, or sebum, to help keep it moisturized.

Number of Hair Follicles

Similarly, the number of hair follicles present on your skin varies depending on location as well. There are many more follicles on your face than there are on your body, which allows these areas to release more toxins. However, this also increases your chances of sustaining a breakout because hair follicles are so close together and can easily clog with facial oil.

Skin Care Tips for Face and Body Skin

As you can see, even your own skin has varying needs when it comes to which part of the body it’s on. Fortunately, now that you know this, you can start making better self-care decisions to help preserve its health. These are some tips to help guide you as you make changes to your skincare regimen.

Facial Skin

When caring for your facial skin, one of the most important things to keep in mind is being gentle and refraining from over-moisturizing. Because this skin is thinner as we discussed, it’s very easy to damage—even during daily washes. So, you want to start using cleansing products that will penetrate the cells deeply without the need for scrubbing. Additionally, since this area is already producing an abundance of oil, applying a moisturizer that’s too thick can inadvertently clog your pores. As such, it’s highly recommended that you switch to something lighter and allow your skin to breathe.

It’s important to only use treatment products with small amounts of active ingredients as well. Most effective skincare substances can be irritants when used on sensitive skin. It’s for this reason that facial products are specially formulated to have small amounts of these materials. A smaller percentage decreases your risk of developing an adverse reaction when using a product on your face.

Body Skin

On the flip side, you can be a bit more aggressive with cleansing your body. Due to how thick these layers of cells are, you’re at a reduced risk of these regions drying out. However, when you do moisturize, you want to use thicker products to rehydrate as deeply as possible. This will ensure that your body skin continues to be a strong protective barrier.

Having thicker cells also means that you can use stronger treatments when trying to rid yourself of blemishes. Body formulas tend to have higher concentrations of their active ingredients because they will need to penetrate several more levels of skin in order to work.

Our skin is among the most complex parts of the human body, and the variations between facial and body skin are just one instance of this. This is why we at Flawless Beauty and Skin work with many industry experts to develop the best skincare products for our customers. Our stock of acne treatments, supplements, and skin whitening soaps online are all backed by years of clinical research and have shown results for millions around the globe. So, if you want something that will work with your body and create beautiful skin from the inside out, visit our website.