What Is Sebaceous Prominence?

The composition of sebum is relatively complex. It mainly contains wax lipids, triglycerides, and free fatty acids. It is also mixed with phospholipids and cholesterol lipids produced by epithelial cells. Sebum is oily and has a moisturizing effect on the skin to prevent dryness and cracking. The fatty acids in sebum kill bacteria and protect against mold and viruses, making it a natural skin barrier. Since sebum contains fat-soluble metabolic wastes not needed by the body, sebum has a certain excretion effect ^[1] .

Sebum is secreted by cortical cells that belong to the whole plasma secretory glands. or

Sebum is one of the factors that makes animal fur particularly soft, but its role in the human body is still unclear. According to some accounts, sebum contains substances that can prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi, and it is generally believed that sebum can protect the skin's smoothness and softness, but we only need to think about children's skin to know that this is a wrong idea. Children's skin is the smoothest and finest, but it contains very little sebum, usually

(1) Age: Sebaceous gland secretion is closely related to age. After entering old age, sebum is gradually reduced, and the above-mentioned protective effect will be weakened. Therefore, elderly people's skin is mostly flakes, feel dry, and cracked hands and feet are common. In order to avoid these phenomena, the key is to protect sebum. The specific measure is that bathing should not be too frequent, and it is generally appropriate once every half a month. The bath water should not be too hot. Avoid using alkaline soap to prevent too much sebum from being dissolved.

From puberty, the sebaceous gland secretion activity is gradually increasing, which can last for about 10-15 years. If the body secretes too much sex hormones, loses its equilibrium state, or the sebaceous glands become hypertrophic, the sebum secretion increases, which results in stasis and excretion of the mouth, and acne will form. It is more common around the orbit, forehead, around the mouth, and lower edge of the lower jaw, and is often bilaterally symmetrical. In addition to the face, the back of the chest can also occur, but it is relatively rare. Frequent areas of acne are also where the sebaceous glands are dense.

(2) Gender: In general, men of all ages have more sebum secretion than women, especially in the elderly group. Women's sebum secretion decreases sharply after menopause, but elderly men still have a certain amount of sebum secretion until the age of 70.

(3) Race: It is currently found that people of color, especially black, have more sebum secretion than whites.

(4) Drugs: Long-term use of glucocorticoids can promote sebaceous gland hyperplasia and increase secretion. Exogenous male hormones can directly stimulate sebaceous gland hyperplasia. Estrogen can inhibit sebaceous gland secretion. Oral retinoids can inhibit sebaceous gland secretion. The diuretic spironolactone has a similar effect because it competes with the androgen receptor.

(5) Others: For example, dietary nutrition, environmental humidity, and temperature also have a certain effect on the secretion of sebaceous glands ^[1] .