An Actor's Guide to Acne-Free Skin
Acne Equation
| Sebum, What is it? |
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Sebum is part of the oil that is found on the surface of the skin. Other ingredients of the oil include sweat, lipids and environmental dirt. Sebum reaches hair follicles and coats the hair and also reaches the skin through the hair follicles.
How sebum is produced—sebum is produced by sebaceous glands. These glands are found on most parts of the body. Except few, most sebaceous glands open into a hair follicle. These are the sites of acne formation.What does sebum do—sebum protects skin from bacterial infection. Sebum also reduces the natural water loss of body from the skin. Increased sebum production can cause acne.
Sebum production — sebum production decreases with age. Particularly in women it reduces after menopause. Adult females produce less sebum than men. Sebum production may experience jumps at the time of puberty in men.
There are some common theories about sebum. Some people believe that drying excess sebum with blotting oils will reduce sebum production. Some believe that if you use products designed to control oil production that they will increase sebum production. Both are wrong. Drying excess oil will only remove surface oil. And using oil control products will not increase sebum production. Sebum is required to protect our skin, but increased production of sebum leads to oily skin and frequent acne flare-ups.
Source: Acne Treatment—what is sebum?, C.D. Mohatta
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Articles of the month Sebum, What is it? Nutrition, Key to NRG ________________________ Did You Know? Acne affects 25% of all men and 50% of all women at some time in their adult lives. 
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