There is a “secret” charm about our skin, and most of us keep it hidden from view. Even your own! We don't see stripes or spots like those of a tiger or cow when we look in the mirror, but that doesn't mean they aren't there.
Thanks to a peculiarity in the way our epidermis is formed, we have real "invisible textures" beneath the surface. There is a rumor on the web that our pets can see them, but it is a hoax. They become visible only in some circumstances: for example, in the presence of eczema, or vitiligo.
We are striped animals (secret)
In 1901 the German dermatologist Alfred Blaschko focused on over 150 patients, studying the patterns of moles, birthmarks and other skin conditions on their bodies. It was he who intuited that they could follow well-defined paths.
It is no coincidence that today these stripes are known just as Blaschko lines. What more do we know about it since then? It seems that they are present from birth, and that they do not follow other known "paths" of our body (such as blood vessels or nerves). On the contrary, they have completely independent criteria.
100 years after these discoveries, the doctor Rudolph Happle added new details to the map: including wavy pectoral arches, more “mountainous” stripes on the back, swirling rings on the buttocks, spirals on the scalp and more “trajectories” on the neck.
A journey through the cells
These Blaschko Lines are now thought to trace the path our cells take as they divide and develop into skin that surrounds us, during embryonic development.
These pathways are designed by cells on the surface of our skin, called keratinocytes, and by those responsible for our skin pigment, melanocytes, located deeper in the epidermis.
Some of these patterns on our skin may be linked to the X chromosome we inherit from our parents.
Unique works
Cellular processes, in other words, give rise to extraordinary mosaic “patterns” that can vary from small stripes to larger patches. Further proof, if any were needed, of the fact that each of us is an absolutely unique and unrepeatable work of art.
In any case, the stripes that cross us are not just an "aesthetic" curiosity that pops up from time to time like a small fault.
Their greater understanding can also help doctors diagnose skin conditions. As you imagine how you might be (do you prefer brindle, striped or spotted?) know that these stripes can also lead to much deeper information.
And slowly maybe we will get there.
