Men: The Delicate Gender (Their Skin, At Least)

Contrary to popular belief, men's skin is more delicate than women's. Differences in the sebaceous glands, nerve fibers, thickness, fragility and the way their skin ages makes men the weaker sex in terms of their skin.

Sebaceous Glands

Men have smaller sebaceous, or oil, glands in their skin. Despite this, their skin is more oily than of women. This is because testosterone cause more frequent oil secretions. This higher level of oil production translates into increased occurrence of acne. On the other hand, because of the smaller glands, moisturizer and other skin care products are absorbed at lesser rate.

Nerve Fibers

Men have as few as 50% as many nerve fibers in their skin, which gives them less sensitivity to pain from injury and burns.

Thickness

Men have thicker skin than women, at least from a physiological stand point. And herein lies one of life's major inequities. Thicker skin makes men less susceptible to the damaging effects of sun's UVA rays. It's the reason women show more signs of aging from sun damage.

Fragility

Although it may be thicker, a man's skin is more fragile than that of a woman. There are several, “man made” reasons for this. Shaving destroys the hydrolipidic film, leading to loss of natural lubrication and protection. It also cause nicks and cuts. Men tend to take less care with their skin, and expose themselves to harsher elements.

Aging

The changes in skin's properties caused by aging differs between men and women. Men lose thickness at a steady rate of about one percent per year. Prior to menopause, the thickness of a woman's skin remains about the same. But the loss of estrogen brings with it the loss of the bony framework supporting a woman's skin, and along with it skin loses its softness and resiliency. Post-menopausal women lose collagen at greater levels than do their male counterparts. That is why women show more signs of aging than do men who have had similar or identical exposure to the sun.

photo by Bjorn de Leeuw