Why Fingers Wrinkle In Water
~ Davin Hiskey ~
Today I found out why fingers wrinkle
in water. For the quick answer, water washes away an oily substance that
protects your skin. When that happens, a certain type of dead cell on
your skin will absorb the water causing the cells to swell up, but the layer
underneath does not. So the swelling, combined with the places the skin
is connected underneath to the non-swelled layer, causes your finger tips to
look all wrinkly.
So that’s the quick, generic
answer. More technically, there is a waxy/oily substance your skin
secretes from the sebaceous glands called “sebum”. In these glands, sebum
is produced within special cells and is then secreted when these cells
burst. This substance, among other benefits, has the dual effect of
helping your skin and hair stay hydrated underneath, so it doesn’t get dry and
cracked, while also helping to protect your skin from excess moisture from the
outside. You will have probably noticed sebum at some point in your hair
if you go a couple days without washing it. Your hair will start to feel
very oily when you run your hands through it. When you are in water for
extended periods, this sebum gets washed away from your skin and hair, removing
this protective layer.
Now you might be wondering why only
your finger tips and toes get wrinkly and not the rest of your body (or at
least not nearly as fast). The reason why is not 100% understood, but we
do have a pretty good idea of what is going on here. The skin’s outermost
layer, the epidermis, contains a protein called keratin. This protein
helps strengthen your skin. Dead keratin cells also make up the
epidermis’ surface layer, called the stratum corneum (Latin for ‘horny layer’).
So once all the protective sebum is washed away, these dead keratin cells
absorb the water like a sponge and swell. This is why your skin is much
easier to cut or break when it is waterlogged. The strong outer layer of
dead keratin cells loses some of its toughness when waterlogged.
The reason then that your toes and fingers get more wrinkly is that they
contain a thicker layer of both living and dead keratin cells than the rest of
your body. This causes them to swell more noticeably then the rest of
your skin as the dead keratin cells absorb water.
The wrinkle effect occurs, rather
than just general swelling, because the inner layer of living keratin cells
stays more or less the same as it was before you were in the water, while the
outer layer swells; the connections between these two layers stay closely
bonded while the places not connected are free to swell, hence, the pruney
fingers and toes.
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So, that’s the interesting story of
how fingers get wrinkled in water. I will occasionally be adding more
“educational” stories in some of my upcoming blogs. Have an awesome day!
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Have any stories or interesting
tidbits? Email me richmullercoach@gmail.com
Have any comments? Please leave them
in the “comment” area below.
Live. Laugh. Love
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