What does goosebumps mean

When people feel creepy or cold, goose bumps appear on the surface of their skin. The goose bumps on normal people will disappear within a short time, but there is also a skin disease called goose bumps. This type of skin is like chicken skin, with densely packed small spots growing on the surface of the skin, which greatly affects the smoothness of the skin. Let’s learn about goose bumps today.

Goose bumps skin

When the human body feels cold or scared or when the brain gives a command, goose bumps will appear on the body. This is because there is a small muscle called arrector pili muscle under each hair. When they contract, a small bump appears on the surface of the skin, and the hairs on it stand up. This phenomenon is called goose bumps. If this phenomenon persists, it is goose bump skin.

Specific formation process: When the arrector pili muscle contracts, the hair stands upright on the skin surface, and the spindle muscle cells at their origin and terminal ends turn into elastin fibers, which are inserted into the gaps between muscle cells and are fixed to form tendon junctions. When the muscles relax, the hair returns to its original position due to the elastic recovery of the surrounding dermis, and the elastin fibers surrounding the outer hair root sheath are firmly attached to the epidermal cells. In fact, it has less elasticity and greater tension. The terminal end of the muscle inserts into the tonic hair follicles, but its origin under the epidermis is not tonic, so when the arrector pili muscles contract, the skin is twisted to produce a chicken-skin-like appearance. The activity of the arrector pili muscles is controlled by the adrenergic sympathetic nerves. When mental and emotional changes such as fear and terror occur, the sympathetic nerves become excited, adrenaline levels increase, the arrector pili muscles contract, and the hair stands upright.

The main causes of goose bumps are as follows:

1. Abnormal sebum metabolism: Abnormal sebum metabolism leads to uncontrolled sebum secretion regulation and increased sebum secretion rate.

2. Thickening of the keratin around the hair: Increased sebum secretion rate causes thickening of the keratin around the hair, and the hair cannot grow normally.

3. Follicular tissue mutation: The accumulation of keratin around the hair follicles will cause inflammation of the hair follicles and mutations

How to treat goose bumps

1. Dissolve keratin, that is, exfoliate.

Because goose bumps are related to thickened keratin, gentle exfoliation is necessary, but be sure not to overdo it.

There are many ways to exfoliate. When we take a bath, we can use shower gel containing scrub particles, rub our body vigorously with a bath sponge, bath ball, etc., which can achieve the effect of exfoliation. However, it can make the skin thinner and drier, which in turn can cause goose bumps to become more severe. Our skin's keratin renewal cycle is 28-45 days, so this method of vigorously rubbing to exfoliate is enough to be done once every 1-1.5 months.

A gentler way to exfoliate is with bath salts (table salt can also exfoliate, but the sodium in it can dry out the skin). You can take a bath with bath salts, or you can dissolve the bath salts in hot water first, then mix it with a plant-based shower gel (shower gel with more chemical agents will react chemically with the bath salts), and use it in the shower. When taking a bath with bath salts, you can also add rose and sandalwood essential oils to exfoliate and moisturize the skin.

2. The bath water temperature should not be too hot.

For skin with goose bumps, it is recommended not to use too hot water to take a bath, even in winter, the water temperature should be controlled at around 40 degrees. Because water that is too hot will easily remove the oil on the surface of the skin, and people with goose bumps have skin that is relatively lacking in water and oil, so taking a bath with water that is too hot will undoubtedly aggravate skin problems, so you must be careful.

3. Body lotion moisturizes the skin.

In addition to exfoliating your body, it is also important to moisturize your skin with lotion. In addition to goose bumps, the skin will also lack water and oil, so you need to use lotion for care, and a body lotion with a strong moisturizing effect can replenish these hair follicles.

4. Supplement vitamin A and whole grains

Eating more foods containing vitamin A is good for your skin and body. However, you should remember that vitamin A foods need to be taken with fat or minerals because it is oil-soluble and only works in oil. Carrots, cod liver oil, pork liver and spinach are all rich in vitamin A. Moreover, natural vitamin A only exists in animal foods such as animal liver, eggs, cream and cod liver oil. The carotene contained in plants enters the human body and can be converted into vitamin A in the liver.