Understanding your body and the way it works is essential to living a healthy life. One aspect of your bodily functions you may not be familiar with is sebum. This oily substance helps your body a lot and is a reason to be celebrated!
What Is Sebum?
Sebum is a waxy and oily substance that your body's sebaceous glands produce. It coats, moisturizes, and protects your skin. It is the primary ingredient of what you typically think of as your body's natural oils.
Sebum is comprised of a complex mixture of sugars, fatty acids, waxes, and additional natural chemicals. These substances work together to create a protective barrier against water evaporation and help create an essential barrier for toxins. Remember your skin is he largest organ on your body.
Understanding that sebum is an amazing substance there to protect you is a really great thing! The trouble occurs when sebum mixes with sweat, dead skin cells, and toxins and gets stuck in your pores. This can cause bacteria and breakouts.
Here are some fun facts about sebum that show why you should embrace it:
- There are 900 sebaceous glands per square centimeter of your skin. The majority are on your face and scalp.
- Sebum works to protect your skin and hair from losing moisture. You may have excess sebum in your scalp if you have a lot of acne on your hairline or forehead.
- Your sebaceous glands produce a white paste-like coating when you are in the womb, protecting and moisturizing your skin. Your sebum production goes down from six months of age to puberty, at which point the production can increase up to 500 percent!
- Your pituitary gland in your brain sends signals to your adrenal glands that then produce hormones during puberty. So basically, as a woman, your adrenal glands produce androgens, which turn into estrogen. Isn’t your body is incredible!
If you think you are producing too much sebum, you should talk to a dermatologist because therapies can help!
Using Sebum to Help Your Body
Now that you know a little about sebum and how it is produced, you can learn how to use that information to help yourself. There are several tips on how to keep your skin clear of acne, breakouts, and excessive dryness.
First embrace these natural oils, remember they are there to protect you.
Be aware of the creams, soaps, and other topicals you use on your face, hair, and body, as they can significantly impact your sebum. Do not use any products that have strong acids, alcohol, or synthetic fragrances and dyes. These can strip, dry out, and cause irritation to your skin. Instead, pick products with balancing oils and gentle cleansers, as these will work with your body's natural oils. This creates better harmony on your skin. Our facial care products are made to work in harmony with your skin.
Another tip is to eat a smarter diet. There is still research to be done to understand the link between high-fat diets and acne, but picking a diet that is rich in Omega 3's is always a good option. Also, sugar causes a lot of inflammation in your body, so you should avoid it. Instead, choose to eat healthy fats and reduce your sugar intake.
Finally, you need to drink lots of water! There is so much proven research that water has so many benefits to your organs. You may not think of your skin this way, but it is an organ. Your biggest one, in fact! Water will help you flush out any toxins.
Your body is incredible, embrace it! We hope this information has been beneficial. At Good For You Girls, we choose ingredients that do not disrupt your body's natural processes and formulate purposefully to work with the ups and downs of hormonal skin. If you have any questions for us, contact us today.