Understanding your skin

Getting under your skin

The skin is made up of three distinct layers (see fig 1). The top layer is called the epidermis. The epidermis is translucent - it allows light to pass partially through it. The epidermis does not contain any blood vessels but gets its oxygen and nutrients from the deeper layers of the skin. At the bottom of the epidermis is a very thin membrane, called the basement membrane, which attaches the epidermis firmly, though not rigidly, to the layer below called the dermis. The dermis contains blood vessels, nerves, hair roots and sweat glands. Below the dermis lies a layer of subcutaneous fat. The depth of this layer varies from one person to another. It contains larger blood vessels and nerves, and is made up of clumps of fat-filled cells called adipose cells. This subcutaneous fat lies on the muscles and bones, to which the whole skin structure is attached by connective tissues.

Visia Skin Analysis

This complexion analysis will create a 3D image of your face, from which we will be able to closely examine and detect specific skin characteristics. Comparisons can be made of your skin scores relative to various peer groups. At the end of the exercise you will receive a customised report which will include recommendations for treatment regimes for optimum skin health.

By using the unique Visia complexion analysis we can assess the condition of your skin and develop tailor-made treatment programmes to suit your needs. Visia helps us to eliminate the subjectivity or guesswork from the diagnostic process which enables our experienced clinicians to focus their expertise on finding the right solutions to your problems. We also use it as an analytical tool to monitor how your treatments are progressing.