Causes of goose bumps all over the body

Almost everyone will get goose bumps on their skin when their skin is stimulated by external stimuli, such as fear, terror, cold, or when the brain issues a command. The reason for goose bumps all over the body is that there is an arrector pili muscle under each hair. When this small muscle contracts, the surface of the skin will bulge and the hair will stand up, making the skin look like small bumps, which we commonly call goose bumps.

1. Goose Bumps

Dressing warmly, keeping to a quiet environment, and avoiding startling people can help reduce goose bumps.

We can see similar situations in animals: when cats and dogs are afraid or angry, their hair will stand up, which makes them appear larger and suppresses the opponent in terms of momentum. When it's cold, goose bumps help narrow the gap between hair and skin, preventing heat from dissipating. Modern humans no longer need to scare away enemies with their hair standing upright, nor do they have thick body hair to cover their bodies. Therefore, the effect of goose bumps has been significantly reduced, but due to incomplete evolution, this feature has not disappeared.

2. Causes

The arrector pili muscle is a smooth muscle associated with the hair follicles. It is composed of slender bundles of spindle-shaped muscle fibers, one end of which starts from the papillary layer of the dermis and inserts into the connective tissue sheath on the side of the middle part of the hair follicle at the other end, forming an obtuse angle with the skin surface. Therefore, when the arrector pili muscle contracts, the hair stands upright on the skin surface. The spindle-shaped muscle cells become elastin fibers at their starting and terminal ends, which are inserted into the gaps between muscle cells and 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, which is the so-called creepy and goose bump phenomenon.

3. Improvement Methods

1. It is recommended to take a bath with loofah, bath salt or scrub, but not too often. Too much will damage the skin. It is recommended to do it once a month.

2. It is recommended to rub the skin before bathing to remove excess cuticles, and then apply BB oil or olive oil and moisturizer after bathing. This can be done all year round.

3. It is recommended to use products containing A acid such as Divi Cream to improve cuticles.

4. This type of skin is caused by a lack of vitamin A. You can eat foods or take medicines rich in vitamin A.