What Is Sebum?

Shiny skin is frustrating to just about everyone who has it. The oily texture inherent to your shiny facial skin can upset people who have this issue, especially teenagers. Most people, though, are grateful to learn that many skin problems, including common shiny face and acne, come from a single source, an oily, waxy substance called sebum.   The entire body is covered with tiny sebaceous glands that produce sebum. Each gland secretes a little bit of this substance, but producing too much is fairly common, especially where they are in the greatest concentration on the face and the scalp. Because this substance helps protect the body from outside forces, there are more on the face, which is almost always exposed, and on the scalp, which must keep the hair healthy.   Of course, if the sebaceous glands are too active, you may end up with a shiny face or acne. Luckily, if you take proper care of your skin, you can help solve this problem. Especially if you have a problem with shiny facial skin, it is extremely important to make skin care a priority. With a proper daily skin care routine including basic skin cleansing steps, you can either reduce the number of days you have a shine problem or make it go away altogether.   Establishing a daily skin care routine is best approached with the help of a licensed esthetician. An esthetician is a skin care professional who has gone through extensive training to learn the best ways to improve and maintain your skin. When you go in for a personal consultation, the professional can evaluate your skin type, go over basic skin cleansing steps, and help you make a plan to reduce the excess sebum on your skin and offer one-time treatments such as facial masks to kick-start improvement.