Anatomy and physiology relevant to beauty therapy
Domain 2 tests applied anatomy and physiology: the structures you touch, the systems that respond to treatment, and the vocabulary to describe them accurately. Questions often link structure to function - why the epidermis matters for product penetration, why lymphatic drainage follows node chains, and which muscle closes the jaw.
Skin
- Epidermis: avascular; keratinocytes arranged in stratum corneum, granulosum, spinosum and basale; stratum lucidum appears only on palms and soles. Melanocytes in the basal layer produce melanin; Langerhans cells contribute to immunity.
- Dermis: papillary and reticular layers containing collagen, elastin, fibroblasts, blood vessels, nerve endings, hair follicles, sebaceous glands and sweat glands.
- Subcutaneous layer: adipocytes providing insulation and shock absorption.
- Cell turnover averages about 28 days; the stratum corneum provides the main barrier. Skin is thinnest on the eyelids and thickest on palms and soles.
Hair and nails
- Hair has a shaft, root, follicle, bulb and papilla, with a sebaceous gland and arrector pili muscle. Growth cycles are anagen (active), catagen (transitional) and telogen (resting).
- The nail unit comprises the plate, bed, matrix, lunula, cuticle/eponychium, hyponychium, lateral folds and free edge. Fingernails grow about 3 mm per month; toenails about 1 mm.
Musculoskeletal system
- Facial muscles include frontalis, temporalis, masseter, buccinator, orbicularis oculi and oris, zygomaticus, platysma and sternocleidomastoid.
- Bones include frontal, zygomatic, maxilla, mandible and nasal bones, plus clavicle, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, metacarpals and phalanges.
Circulation, lymph and nerves
- The heart pumps blood through arteries, capillaries and veins. Facial and superficial temporal arteries arise from the external carotid; jugular veins drain the head and neck.
- Lymph has no central pump; it moves through muscle contraction, breathing and massage. Key node groups are submental, submandibular, cervical, axillary and inguinal.
- The trigeminal nerve (V) carries sensation from the face; the facial nerve (VII) supplies the muscles of facial expression.
Worked example
A client wants a facial massage to reduce puffiness. The therapist reasons that fluid drains toward the cervical nodes, so effleurage moves from the midline outward and downward along the jaw and neck, with light pressure over the carotid area. Deep pressure over the carotid sinus is avoided because it can affect blood pressure and heart rate.
Traps that cost marks
- Placing melanocytes in the dermis rather than the basal epidermis.
- Claiming lymph is pumped by the heart.
- Saying the masseter opens the jaw - it closes it.
- Confusing the sensory trigeminal nerve with the motor facial nerve.
- Mixing the order of the epidermal layers.