Sebum is part of the oil that is found on the surface of the skin. Other ingredients of the oil on the skin are- sweat, lipids and environmental dirt. It is sebum, which contributes a lot to our body odor. Sebum itself is odorless but its bacterial disintegration produces odor. That is why if you keep your skin clean of bacteria with anti bacterial soaps regularly, you can reduce body odor to a great extent. Sebum reaches hair follicles and coats the hair and also reaches the skin through the hair follicles. Many people experience oily hair if hair is left unwashed for few days. That happens because of sebum. The Latin meaning of sebum is fat.
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 jump 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 supposed to control oil production that will increase sebum production. Both are wrong conclusions. 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.
This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.
