Pruny Skin

The outermost layer of our skin has sebum, which lubricates and waterproofs our skin. The sebum keeps the water out when we wash our hands or take a quick shower.

But when our skin is exposed to water for a longer time…such as in swimming or washing dishes, the limited amount of sebum gets washed away. Once the sebum is washed away, water enters the outer layer of the skin by the process of osmosis.

So why do finger tips and toes get pruny and not the rest of the body? Because most of our body is covered with hair and each hair follicle constantly pumps out sebum; but our palms and feet don’t have hair; so the protective layer of sebum gets washed away quickly.

The extra water that enters your skin makes it swell up in some places, which gives it that wrinkled look. So, the wrinkled look is not because our skin has shriveled but because it is overly clogged with water.

Resources:

Another article about pruny fingers

More information about sebum

May 31, 2003