Why does our skin produce oil?

Why does our skin produce oil?

When you have oily skin and struggle with a greasy, shiny face you may wonder why the skin produces oil at all. Normal skin needs oil to lubricate the skin and keep it feeling soft and supple. Oil produced by the glands in the skin also plays a role in protecting it from environmental factors such as dirt and pollution by forming a lipid barrier to prevent their absorption into the skin. This barrier also is designed to prevent excessive water loss so our skin stays hydrated and retains its suppleness and glow.

How does our skin produce oil?

The sebaceous glands lie beneath the surface of the skin and have a connection with the base of the hair shafts. Oil or sebum produced by these sebaceous glands which travels via the pores to the skin is a complex mixture of different lipids which are fatty substances. If our glands don’t produce enough oil we get a drier skin and of course too much sebum causes that greasy, shiny face those with oily skin suffer with. What we need to try to achieve is a less greasy, more matt skin. However, we also need to ensure that we don’t strip the skin of its’ protective barrier.

• The only part of our bodies that do not have these oil producing glands is the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet.
• The classic oily T zone of the forehead, nose and chin are the areas that have the most sebaceous glands.

Do we need to moisturise?

• Oily skin needs to preserve the integrity of the skin barrier; therefore we do not want to use products that will strip away the natural oils.
• Use a gentle but effective cleanser to wash away excess oil.
• Use a moisturiser that is non-comodegenic, that is it will not block the pores but will help look after the natural barrier of the skin and help the area under the eyes that has few sebaceous glands.

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