Sebum Health Dictionary

Excessive production of SEBUM; it occurs in ACNE vulgaris.... seborrhoea

A common skin condition starting after puberty, and which may persist for many years. It involves plugged pores (blackheads and whiteheads), pimples and deeper nodules on the face, neck, trunk and even the upper arms. It arises from pilosebaceous glands (relating to hair follicles and associated SEBACEOUS GLANDS). SEBUM production is increased and bacterial proliferation causes in?ammation with PAPULE and PUSTULE formation. Plugs of sebum and epidermal cells form blackheads (comedones); the colour is not due to dirt but to dried oil and shed skin cells in the hair-follicle openings.

Treatment Twice-daily washing with a salicylic-acid cleanser can help remove the pore-blocking debris, as can daily shampooing. Use only oil-free cosmetics and hide blackheads with a ?esh-tinted acne lotion containing benzoyl peroxide, acid or sulphur. Never squeeze blackheads, however tempting; ask a skin specialist how to do this properly. Other treatments include microdermabrasion, and the antibiotic lotions erythromycin and clindamycin may be e?ective. Tretinoin and adapilene can be used on the skin but are not permitted in pregnancy and may cause problems such as hypersensitivity to sunlight, so medical advice is essential. In resistant cases, long-term suppressive oral therapy with one of the TETRACYCLINES or with ERYTHROMYCIN may be necessary. In females a combined oestrogenantiandrogen ‘pill’ is an alternative. Severe resistant acne can be cleared by a 16- to 24week course of oral isotretinoin, but this drug is teratogenic (see TERATOGENESIS) and can cause many side-effects including depression, so its use requires specialist supervision.

See www.skincarephysicians.com/acnenet/... acne

Oil secreting glands, mostly clustered around hair follicles. The oil, sebum, is released into the oil glands from the disintegrated cytoplasm of shedding holocrine cells that line the alveolar surfaces. The nature of the secretion is a direct reflection of the state of the body’s lipid metabolism.... sebaceous gland

An infectious skin disease caused usually by Staphylococcus aureus and less often by Streptococcus pyogenes. The itching rash is seen especially on the face but may spread widely. Vesicles and pustules erupt and dry to form yellow-brown scabs. Untreated, the condition may last for weeks. In very young infants, large blisters may form (bullous impetigo).

Treatment Crusts should be gently removed with SALINE. Mild cases respond to frequent application of mupiricin or NEOMYCIN/BACITRACIN ointment; more severe cases should be treated orally or, sometimes, intravenously with FLUCLOXACILLIN or one of the CEPHALOSPORINS. If the patient is allergic to penicillin, ERYTHROMYCIN can be used.

For severe, intractable cases, an oral retinoid drug called isotretinoin (commercially produced as Roaccutane®) can be used. It is given systemically but treatment must be supervised by a consultant dermatologist as serious side-effects, including possible psychiatric disturbance, can occur. The drug is also teratogenic (see TERATOGENESIS), so women who are, or who may become, pregnant must not take isotretinoin. It acts mainly by suppressing SEBUM production in the sebaceous glands and can be very e?ective. Recurrent bouts of impetigo should raise suspicion of underlying SCABIES or head lice. Bactericidal soaps and instilling an antibiotic into the nostrils may also help.... impetigo

A small opening. The word is usually used to describe an opening in the skin that releases sweat or sebum, a waxy material secreted by the sebaceous glands in the SKIN.... pore

Any one of a collection of drugs that are derived from vitamin A (see APPENDIX 5: VITAMINS). They can be taken orally or applied topically, and affect the skin by causing drying and peeling, with a reduction in the production of SEBUM. These properties are useful in the treatment of ACNE and PSORIASIS.... retinoids

Inflammatory sebaceous skin disease with pustules, papules and cysts found frequently in adolescents at commencement of puberty when the sebaceous (grease) glands become more active. Blackheads are formed by blockage of follicles with sebum. A black pigment, melanin, concentrates on the top of the hair follicle forming a plug.

Lesions may appear on face, neck and chest. Worse in winter, better in summer. Acne vulgaris has blackheads (comedones) that distinguish it from acne rosacea. Studies show low zinc levels. The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia records Poke root singularly effective. Medicines containing iodine and bromine (Kelp) should be avoided. Dr Edward Frankel, Los Angeles, warns against use of Vaseline which, through build-up of bacteria, may cause pustular reaction.

Alternatives. Teas. Agrimony, Alfalfa, Burdock leaves, Chamomile, Dandelion, Figwort, Gotu Kola, Heartsease, Hibiscus, Marigold petals, Mate tea, Nettles, Redbush (rooibos), Rose Hip, Violet, Wood Betony.

Tablets/capsules. Blue Flag, Dandelion, Echinacea, Queen’s Delight, Seaweed and Sarsaparilla, Poke root, Devil’s Claw, Goldenseal.

Formula. Echinacea 2; Blue Flag 1; Poke root half. Dose – Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one- third teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 30-60 drops. Tinctures: 1-2 teaspoons. Thrice daily before meals. Evening Primrose oil. Success reported.

Maria Treben. Nettle tea.

French traditional. Horse radish vinegar.

Greek traditional. Marigold petal poultice.

Topical. cleanse lesions with distilled extract of Witch Hazel or fresh lemon juice. Follow with Marshmallow and Slippery Elm ointment, dilute Tea Tree oil, Evening Primrose oil, Jojoba or Aloe Vera gel. Thyme Lotion (Blackmore’s).

Aromatherapy. Sandalwood oil. Or Lavender and Tea Tree oils.

Diet. Lacto-vegetarian. Low fat, low carbohydrate. Avoid chocolate, cow’s milk, sugars and drinks that induce facial flushing. Raw fruit and vegetables.

Supplements. Vitamins A, B-complex, B6, C, E. Chromium, Selenium, Zinc. ... acne, vulgaris

A drug derived from vitamin A used in the treatment of severe acne. It works by reducing the formation of sebum (natural skin oils) and keratin (a tough protein that is the major component of the outer layer of skin).

Side effects include itching, dryness and flaking of the skin, and cracking of the lips. Isotretinoin may damage a developing fetus; pregnancy must be avoided during treatment and for at least 3 months after taking the drug. Regular blood tests are recommended to check for complications.... isotretinoin

The female breast should be examined monthly, and any dimples, lumps or change in skin texture noted. A lifestyle to avoid most breast disorders means following a wholefood diet, to the exclusion of additives, food colourings and carcinogens where possible. Drugs, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and coffee should be avoided. Consumption of caffeine (tea, coffee, etc) has been associated with cysts (fibrocystic disease, fibro-adenoma). The link is shown between tea and coffee, but not with cola and chocolate products. (Journal of National Cancer Institute, vol 72, No. 5, p. 1015-1019, 1984)

Exercises include the “windmill” movement, stretching the circling arms without straining. Give breasts an invigorating spray of cold water for one minute. Exchange animal fats and cholesterol for unsaturated cold-pressed oils. Daily supplementation includes: Vitamins A, C, E. Zinc, Selenium, for their anti-carcinogenic effect.

Agents known to promote healthy breasts: Red Clover flowers, Sarsaparilla, oil of Evening Primrose, Yarrow, Clivers.

Women with breast disease have high rates of sebum production, a marker of Essential Fatty Acid deficiency. (Goolamali SK, Shuster S. Lancet 1; 428-9, 1975) To make good such deficiency oils of safflower, corn, Soya, etc, being rich in EFAs are indicated. Animal fat should be avoided; butter and dairy products taken sparingly.

Evening Primrose oil capsules (Efamol) can significantly reduce breast pain, breast tenderness and formation of nodules. (Pashby NL, Mansel RE, Preece et. al. British Surgical Research Society, July 1981) ... breasts

Hair, like nails and skin, is a protein material built up on amino acids. It is rich in minerals, especially sulphur. A sebaceous gland at the base of the hair follicle secretes sebum, an oily substance, which acts as a lubricant. When vital minerals and vitamins are lacking in the blood the quality of fibre and sebum deteriorates resulting in lustreless hair and change of texture. Healthy hair depends upon good personal hygiene, brushing, and washing with gentle-acting materials instead of harsh detergent shampoos which remove natural oils from the scalp and spoils its condition.

An adequate daily intake of essential fatty acids is assured by the golden oils (Sunflower, Corn, etc) which can be well supported by Evening Primrose oil capsules.

Internal: Bamboo gum. Nettle tea, Alfalfa, Horsetail, Soya.

Topical. Shampoo. Soapwort or Yucca. Chop 2 tablespoons (dry) or 1 tablespoon (fresh) leaves or root. Place in cup of warm water. Stir until a froth is produced. Decant and massage liquor into scalp.

Aloe Vera gel is noted for its moisturising effect and to provide nutrients. It may be used as a shampoo, hair set and conditioner. Jojoba oil has been used for centuries by the Mexican Indians for a healthy scalp; today, it is combined with Evening Primrose and Vitamin E with good effect. Olive oil stimulates strong growth.

One of several herbs may be used as a rinse, including Nettles, Rosemary, Southernwood, Fennel, Chamomile, Yellow Dock and Quassia. Hair should be washed not more than once weekly with warm water and simple vegetable soap; rinse four times with warm rinse, finishing off with cold. Brunettes should add a little vinegar; blondes, lemon juice. Selenium once had a reputation as a hair conditioner; recent research confirms. Selenium shampoos are available.

Supplements: Vitamins B (complex), B6, Choline, C and E. Copper, Zinc, Selenium, Vitamin B12 (50mg thrice daily).

Aromatherapy. 2 drops each: Sage, Nettles, Thyme; to 2 teaspoons Gin or Vodka, and massage into the scalp daily. ... hair care

Peanut of the desert. Simmondsia chinensis. Part used: nut-bean. An animal fat (wax) substitute. Contains myristic acid. Once an important medicinal fruit among Southern Arizona Indians. Action: anti-oxidant, emollient, digestant, anti-inflammatory, detergent, anti-foaming agent, vulnerary for cuts and injuries, appetite-depressant, helps restore pH balance, tuberculostatic. The oil is not readily broken-down by the digestive juices, thus it more directly benefits the intestines.

Uses: Used by the native population for indigestion from a ‘cold’ stomach, for wounds that refuse to heal, and by the squaws for painless delivery. Internally, said to inhibit the spread of tuberculosis.

External: Mexican men still apply the oil to their eye-brows and hair for growth while their women use it to dress their braids and tresses. To the scalp the oil removes excess sebum, moistens dry skin and expels dandruff. Used for minor skin disorders, acne, sunburn, minor burns, chapped skin, nappy-rash, soft fingernails and facial blemishes.

Preparations: Nuts – eaten freely by Mexicans, their children and farm animals. Roasted to make coffee. Meal left over after oil extraction contains no less than 17 amino acids. With its 35 per cent protein Jojoba is a valuable nutrient. Oil is obtained from Mexican beans by cold pressing to ensure that properties provided by nature are not destroyed by chemical processing. It has now replaced some animal oils, especially whale oil (spermaceti) as a base for ointments, creams, bath oils, suntan lotions, and other cosmetic preparations. So successful it is as a substitute for whale oil that the sperm whale now has a new lease of life. It is both non-toxic and non-allergenic. May substitute Olive oil in salads. ... jojoba

A female sex hormone essential for the functioning of the female reproductive system.

Progesterone is made in the ovaries, and small amounts are produced by the adrenal glands and testes.

During the menstrual cycle, changing progesterone levels cause thickening of the endometrium and menstruation.

If pregnancy occurs, progesterone is produced by the placenta; a fall in its level helps to initiate labour.

Progesterone also causes increased fat deposition and increased sebum production by glands in the skin.... progesterone hormone

Glands in the skin that secrete a lubricating substance called sebum. Sebaceous glands either open into hair follicles or discharge directly on to the skin surface. They are most numerous on the scalp, face, and anus and are absent from the palms and soles of the feet. Sebum production is partly controlled by androgen hormones. Disorders of the sebaceous glands may lead to seborrhoea or acne vulgaris.... sebaceous glands

n. a plug formed of fatty material (sebum and keratin) in the outlet of a *sebaceous gland in the skin; the black colour is due to *melanin. See also acne. Medical name: comedo.... blackhead

Natural or synthetic androgen hormones used as drugs; one of the most important is testosterone. These drugs are used in the treatment of male hypogonadism (underactivity of the testes) to stimulate the development of sexual characteristics.

Androgen drugs are occasionally used to treat certain types of breast cancer. They have been widely used by sportsmen wishing to increase muscle bulk and strength, a practice that is dangerous to health (see steroids, anabolic).

Adverse effects include fluid retention, weight gain, increased blood cholesterol, and, rarely, liver damage. When taken by women, the drugs can cause male characteristics, such as facial hair, to develop.

androgen hormones A group of hormones that stimulate the development of male sexual characteristics.

Androgens are produced by specialized cells in the testes in males and in the adrenal glands in both sexes. The ovaries secrete very small quantities of androgens until the menopause. The most active androgen is testosterone, which is produced in the testes. The production of androgens by the testes is controlled by certain pituitary hormones, called gonadotrophins. Adrenal androgens are controlled by ACTH, another pituitary hormone.

Androgens stimulate male secondary sexual characteristics at puberty, such as the growth of facial hair and deepening of the voice. They have an anabolic effect (they raise the rate of protein synthesis and lower the rate at which it is broken down). This increases muscle bulk and accelerates growth. At the end of puberty, androgens cause the long bones to stop growing. They stimulate sebum secretion, which, if excessive, causes acne. In early adult life, androgens promote male-pattern baldness.

Androgen deficiency may occur if the testes are diseased or if the pituitary gland fails to secrete gonadotrophins. Typical effects include decreased body and facial hair, a high-pitched voice, underdevelopment of the genitalia, and poor muscle development.

Overproduction of androgens may be the result of adrenal disorders (see adrenal tumours; adrenal hyperplasia, congenital), of testicular tumours (see testis, cancer of), or, rarely, of androgensecreting ovarian tumours (see ovary, cancer of).

In men, excess androgens accentuate male characteristics; in boys, they cause premature sexual development.

In women, excess androgens cause virilization, the development of masculine features such as an increase in body hair, deepening of the voice, clitoral enlargement, and amenorrhoea.... androgen drugs

(dermoid) a benign tumour – a type of *teratoma – containing developmentally mature skin complete with hair follicles and sebaceous glands, and often pockets of sebum, blood, fat, bone, nails, teeth, eyes, cartilage, and thyroid tissue, which may give rise to symptoms of thyrotoxicosis. It is usually found at sites marking the fusion of developing sections of the body in the embryo and is the most common benign ovarian tumour in girls and young women. Sometimes a dermoid cyst may develop after an injury. Treatment is complete surgical removal, preferably in one piece and without any spillage of cyst contents. Tumours in the skin are best removed by a plastic surgeon. Because of the risks of surgery and anaesthesia to pregnant women, it is usually considered more feasible to remove bilateral dermoid cysts of the ovaries discovered during pregnancy only if they grow beyond 6 cm in diameter. The procedure is usually performed through laparotomy or very carefully through laparoscopy and should preferably be done in the second trimester.... dermoid cyst

n. any one of a group of drugs derived from vitamin A. They bind to one or more of six specific receptors that are found on many cells. On the skin they act to cause drying and peeling and a reduction in oil (sebum) production. These effects can be useful in the treatment of severe *acne, *psoriasis, *ichthyosis, and other skin disorders. Retinoids include *isotretinoin, *tretinoin, acitretin, tazarotene, and alitretinoin, which is particularly effective for hyperkeratotic hand eczema. Possible side-effects, which may be serious, include severe fetal abnormalities (if taken by pregnant women), toxic effects on babies (if taken by breastfeeding mothers), liver and kidney damage, excessive drying, redness and itching of the skin, and muscle pain and stiffness.... retinoid

1. a pale or flesh-coloured dome-shaped cyst that commonly occurs in adults, especially on the face, neck, or trunk. It is firm, with a central dot, and contains keratin, not sebum; such cysts are therefore more correctly referred to as epidermoid cysts. They are usually removed surgically. 2. a cyst of the sebaceous glands occurring in multiple form in a rare inherited condition, steatocystoma multiplex.... sebaceous cyst

helps control the production of sebum, the oily secretion from sweat glands.... antiseborrhoeic

Cymbopogon martinii var. martinii

FAMILY: Graminaceae

SYNONYMS: Andropogon martinii, A. martinii var. motia, East Indian geranium, Turkish geranium, Indian rosha, motia.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A wild-growing herbaceous plant with long slender stems and terminal flowering tops; the grassy leaves are very fragrant.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to India and Pakistan; now grown in Africa, Indonesia, Brazil and the Comoro Islands.

OTHER SPECIES: Of the same family as lemongrass and citronella; also closely related to gingergrass which is a different chemotype known as C. martinii var. sofia. Gingergrass is considered an inferior oil but in some parts of India the two types of grass are distilled together.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: ‘The oil term “Indian” or “Turkish” geranium oil, which formerly was applied to palmarosa oil, dates back to the time when the oil was shipped from Bombay to ports of the Red Sea and transported partly by land, to Constantinople and Bulgaria, where the oil was often used for the adulteration of rose oil.’.

ACTIONS: Antiseptic, bactericidal, cicatrisant, digestive, febrifuge, hydrating, stimulant (digestive, circulatory), tonic.

EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam or water distillation of the fresh or dried grass.

CHARACTERISTICS: A pale yellow or olive liquid with a sweet, floral, rosy, geranium-like scent. It blends well with cananga, geranium, oakmoss, rosewood, amyris, sandalwood, guaiacwood, cedarwood and floral oils.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly geraniol; also farnesol, geranyl acetate, methyl heptenone, citronellol, citral, dipentene and limonene, among others. Several chemotypes depending upon source – the cultivated varieties are considered of superior quality.

SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, non-sensitizing.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE

Skin care: Acne, dermatitis and minor skin infections, scars, sores, wrinkles; valuable for all types of treatment for the face, hands, feet, neck and lips (moisturizes the skin, stimulates cellular regeneration, regulates sebum production).

Digestive system: Anorexia, digestive atonia, intestinal infections – ‘This is an essence which acts on the pathogenic intestinal flora, in particular on the coli bacillus, the Eberth bacillus and the bacillus of dysentery ... this essence favours the transmutation of the pathogenic agent into normal cells of intestinal mucous membranes. Thus it arrests the degeneracy of the cells for the latter, swiftly impels groups of normal cells towards an inferior form in their hierarchy. The essence does not appear to contain any acid.’.

Nervous system: Nervous exhaustion, stressrelated conditions.

OTHER USES: Used extensively as a fragrance component in cosmetics, perfumes and especially soaps due to excellent tenacity. Limited use as a flavouring agent, e.g. tobacco. Used for the isolation of natural geraniol.... palmarosa