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Wrinkled fingertips are an occurrence that most people have experienced at one time or another. The most common occurrence is if you are immersed in water for too long. The circumstances that are most often reported relate to being in a hot or warm bath for a length of time. After a leisurely soak, many people report what is often referred to as a "pruning" of their finger tips, and/or the tips of their toes. But why should this be? Strangely enough there is no straight cut and dried answer. However most dermatology experts hypothesize and share the same theory. The fact is that our finger tips, (and our toe tips too), have an extra thick layer of skin. This relates to the fact that our fingers and our toes are the two main groups of appendages through which we touch, feel and examine external substances. The extra thick layer of skin is Mother Nature's way of affording us a little more protection to these more sensitive, exploratory parts of our bodies. This tough, extra layer of skin is made up of dead cells of keratin. Keratin is a protein which is found in our skins (the outermost layer), our hair, and our nails. There are several different variations of keratin depending on where they are in the body. Our finger and toe nails are actually made from dead keratin. Basically they are made from the same format of keratin that animal hooves are too. This outer layer of dead keratin cells is rigidly fixed to the epidermis, the outer layer of skin found immediately under the tough keratin cells. This layer of tough skin absorbs water when immersed in it for any length of time, but because it is firmly fixed to the under-layer which does not absorb water, the water has nowhere to go and remains sandwiched between the two layers of skin causing wrinkled fingertips; or so the theory goes. There is a new line of research that has just begun which is examining the evidence of something called digital vasoconstriction, which is to do with the narrowing of blood vessels. It is believed that this narrowing phenomenon may be something to do with the reaction of the nerve endings when immersion in water takes place. It has been noticed that when people suffering from a nerve complaint whereby the nerve function is impaired, this "pruning" effect is totally absent. When however the nerve function returns, the pruning phenomenon becomes apparent. However, at this point in time, interesting though it may be, no conclusions have yet been drawn. People sometimes complain about wrinkled fingers even though they have not been immersed in water. Quite frankly there is no known cause of such a condition, but once again there is plenty of theorizing. The most popular theory is that the skin has become dehydrated. This can easily happen with exposure to some soaps or washing up liquids. If it happens when you wash up then you are advised to wear kitchen gloves. In most cases it seems that a moisturizing session with a good quality hand or body cream will restore your wrinkled fingertips back to normal, but it may not prevent further occurrences. Because your hands are subjected to so much "punishment" throughout life, it is always a good idea to take extra care of them, particularly if you like to have well manicured hands. As already stated above, you should always use kitchen gloves when washing up, and other more hardwearing gloves or barriers creams for any other harder manual chores like pruning the roses for example; better still, get the husband or male partner to do the chore instead. There are some excellent hand and body creams on the market today, some of which have anti aging properties via some special ingredients for stimulating collagen/elastin production. By using such a cream twice a day you can prevent wrinkled fingers that are caused through dehydration and aging. Kalpana Rajagopalan is a well respected authority of the subject of skin care and anti aging remedies. Her study into the phenomenon of wrinkled fingertips has revealed some fascinating insights. Find out just what they are and how they can help you by visiting her website at http://www.naturalbeautyandskincare.com/
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