Facts About Your Skin

Skin is categorized based on the rate at which it secrets it's natural oil referred to as Sebum. Sebum helps skin

retain its glow and softness by forming an acid mantle on the surface of the skin to protect it from the harmful effects of our environment.

Bearing this in mind, Skin can be classified as Normal, Dry and  Oily.

Skin can be described as normal if it secrets the required amount of  Sebum which means it can retain its own natural moistness. This means that everyday cells move up the surface of the skin and die. The dead cells remain on the surface of the skin until it is exfoliated. If the dead cells are not removed, it will clog the pores of the skin making it have a lifeless appearance.

On the other hand, Dry skin does not produce sebum as quickly as the normal skin. The process here is slow. This means that the acid that protects dry skin is insufficient. Dry skin is caused by some hereditary factors and sickness.

There are factors that dry the skin like using harsh alkali soaps, alcohol-based cleansers, harsh weather, not drinking enough water etc. For these reasons, dry skin wrinkles faster than normal skin.

In the case of Oily Skin, it is the direct opposite of Dry Skin. Oily skin produces sebum excessively resulting in large pores. Oily skin is said to be as a result of endocrine imbalance. Oily skin is also noticeable during menstrual period.
The advantage of oily skin is that it does not wrinkle easily since wrinkles rarely remains in oily skin. The disadvantage of oily skin is that blackheads and pimples thrive in it. This is because sebum is over-secreted in oily skin which will clog the pores with excessive dead skin cells, perspiration from the skin, external pollution etc. that leads to the formation of blackheads and pimples. It is adviced that oily skin should be regularly cleaned to exfoliate dead skin cells.

People with oily skin should therefore use natural vegetable oil with caution. Applying heavy creams to oil skin should also be avoided since they clog pores.
People with oily skin believe that using an alcohol based cleanser or astringent will help but it actually worsens it since it causes more production of sebum to moisturize the dried out area. A mild astringent is therefore recommended for oily skin. Avoid fatty, oily foods like gravies, nuts, chocolate, fried foods.

The cornmeal recipe I gave in my earlier post is recommended for oily skin since the lemon juice in it will restore the acid mantle during and after the treatment. Vitamin A also helps those with oily skin. Visiting a dermatologist from time to time is not a bad idea.