Normal skin has a soft, supple texture because of its water content. For skin to feel soft, pliable and "normal," its top layer must contain a minimum of 10% water and ideally between 20% and 35%. To help protect the outer layer of skin from losing water, the skin's sebaceous glands produce an oily substance called sebum. Sebum is a complex mixture of fatty acids, sugars, waxes and other natural chemicals that form a protective barrier against water evaporation. If the skin doesn't have enough sebum, it loses water and feels dry. If environmental factors cause more water evaporation and overwhelm the ability of sebum to prevent water loss, the skin will shrivel and crack.
Dry skin, also called xerosis, is a very common problem, affecting people of all ages, even infants. Most cases of dry skin are related to one or more of the following factors:
* Decreased production of sebum is often a factor in the elderly, since the number of sebaceous glands in the skin tends to decrease with age. Aging also may cause blood flow to the skin to decrease, causing a drop in sebum production.
* Loss of existing sebum usually is caused by lifestyle factors, such as […]
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Retin-A [Tretinoin], Gel, Cream, and Liquid, marketed by OrthoNeutrogena, a division of Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a 3, 7-dimethyl-9-(2, 6, 6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexenyl) -nona-2, 4, 6, 8-tetraenoic acid. Chemically, Retin-A [Tretinoin] is all-trans-retinoic acid. It is used in the treatment of acne vulgaris and keratosis pilaris.
Acne vulgaris:
Well, almost each and everyone has some other the time in their adolescent suffered from acne vulgaris, commonly called pimples. What is acne exactly? Our skin especially, over the face has a structure called as the pilo-sebaceous unit [skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland]. It contains the hair follicle and the sebum gland along with its duct. Now, the function of sebum gland is to secrete sebum which then gets expressed on the skin surface. It has got some antibacterial property. Sebum is oily in consistency and if there is increased expression of sebum then it might block the opening of the pilo-sebaceous duct. Due to this there is no drainage from the duct and this leads to the development of comedones. They are initially white, also called as white comedones and later they form black comedones. These comedones eventually lead to the formation of pimples. The most common site […]
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Acne is a skin disorder that affects millions of people around the world. Acne occurs when there is an excessive secretion of sebum, a substance from the hair follicles. The excess secretion becomes the target for dust and bacteria to accumulate to later develop into acne.
Acne can affect people of all ages and races. But occurrence of acne is very high among adolescent people. According to studies, almost 85 percent of adolescents and young adults within the age range of 12 and 24 years old develop acne to a varying degree.
During adolescence, the hormonal levels of a person become elevated and they stimulate the sebaceous glands which are attached to the hair follicles. As an effect, greater amount of sebum is secreted.
The ages of 10 and 13 are when young people are most vulnerable to acne. Normally, acne usually lasts for 5 to 10 years although there are many cases where one experiences acne up until a later age.
People with poor hygiene are at a risk of getting acne. Since acne is caused by bacteria, people who are exposed to dust and dirty and do not wash their […]
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