The number of skin layers depends on how you count them. The skin has three main layers—the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis (subcutaneous tissue). If you count the layers within these layers, the skin has eight or even 10 layers.
For example, the epidermis itself has five layers:
- Stratum basale (basal layer)
- Stratum spinosum (prickle cell layer)
- Stratum granulosum (granular layer)
- Stratum lucidum (clear layer, only in thick skin)
- Stratum corneum (horny layer)
The dermis, the middle layer, has two layers:
- Papillary layer
- Reticular layer
The hypodermis is the deepest layer, acting as a fat storage layer. It is not always counted as a layer of the skin.
So, technically, the skin does have 10 layers if you count all the sub-layers within the main layers. However, the number of layers can vary depending on the area of the body and the thickness of the skin.
