What is the difference between thin skin and thick skin

Furthermore, thick skin exclusively occurs on the soles of feet, palms of hands, and the surface lining of the fingers and toes while thin skin covers the rest of the body. Thick and thin skin are two types of skin present in the body. The main function of the skin is to protect the body from dehydration, pathogens, and mechanical damages.

Thick skin is the skin with a thick epidermis. The thickness of the skin varies from 0. Generally, this type of skin occurs on the soles of feet, palms of hands, and surface lining of the fingers and toes. Moreover, thick skin contains five layers in the epidermis.

But, regular skin contains four layers in the epidermis: stratum corneum keratinized squames layer , stratum granulosum granule cell layer , stratum spinosum prickle cell layer , and the stratum basale basal cell layer. The additional layer of the epidermis in the thick skin is stratum lucidum, which is a thin transparent layer between the stratum basale and stratum corneum layer. Figure 1: Thin and Thick Skin. Furthermore, the main function of the thick skin is to protect these areas from continuous mechanical abrasion.

Also, thick skin lacks hair follicles, smooth muscles, and sebaceous glands. However, it contains a number of sweat glands as well as ridges and furrows on the surface.

Thin skin is the skin with a thin epidermis. The thickness of the epidermis of this type of skin varies from 0. Also, most of the body is covered with thin skin. This type of skin only contains four layers in their epidermis and it lacks a stratum lucidum layer. In addition, its stratum spinosum and stratum corneum layers are thinner.

For example, you can see the thinnest layers found in areas like the eyelids. The thin skin has hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and sweat glands present that are absent in thick skin. Hair follicles produce the actual hairs on the head and the body. The sebaceous glands are associated with the hair follicles and perform an important role in secreting out an oily type substance called as sebum.

Sweat glands occur throughout the thin skin and produce sweat on the body. The thin skin helps in protecting the body from the attack of pathogens and products sweat that cools the body as well as has antimicrobial properties. The sebum produced by the sebaceous gland helps in lubricating the hairs produced by the hair follicles. The hair produced by the hair follicles is different from the hair on the head and even has a different growth rate.

The thin skin does not have a stratum lucidum layer in the epidermis. Thick skin is the type of skin that covers body parts like the fingertips, soles and palms and the areas that need greater protection. The main difference is the thickness of the epidermis and dermis, which are the top two layers of skin.

Thin skin covers most of the body and can vary in thinness, with the thinnest skin covering the eyelids. Thick skin is present on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands. In addition to differing thicknesses, the skin also differs in what is present in the layers.

For example, thick skin has no hair follicles or sebaceous glands, whereas thin skin does. In this article, we look at the differences in appearance, structure, and function of thin and thick skin.

Thin skin covers most of the body, except on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands, and contains fewer cellular layers than thick skin. The epidermis of thin skin ranges from 0. Thin skin can vary in thickness in different parts of the body and is particularly thin across the eyelids.

Thin skin is thickest on the upper back. This is because these areas receive more friction than other areas of the body, and thicker skin helps to protect from potential damage. The epidermis of thick skin can be up to 1. Thick skin does not contain any hair follicles or sebaceous glands. Thick skin also contains no arrector pili muscles, which cause goosebumps. Thick skin is thicker due to it containing an extra layer in the epidermis, called the stratum lucidum. Thick skin actually has a thinner dermis layer than thin skin, but is still thicker due to the stratum lucidum layer present in the epidermis.

Thick and thin skin appear differently under a microscope. Thin skin contains four layers in the epidermis, while thick skin contains a fifth layer. These layers include :. The stratum basale, also known as the stratum germinativum, is the deepest layer of the epidermis. It is the layer just above the dermis.

This layer continuously produces new skin cells. It also contains melanocytes, which are cells that produce skin pigment and help protect the skin from sun damage.

The stratum spinosum consists of eight to ten layers of cells. People may refer to the stratum spinosum as the prickle cell layer because of the irregular structure of cells, which look like spines or prickles. The stratum granulosum consists of three to five layers of cells. The stratum granulosum contains granules, which are rich in lipids. Only thick skin contains the stratum lucidum layer. The stratum lucidum is a thin, transparent layer consisting of two to three layers of cells.

It contains a protein called eleidin.