Sebum

“ We speak of the sweat gland secreting sweat out of the blood brought by the capillaries which are wrapped round the gland.
47. Now we can understand why the inside of the mouth is red and moist. The mouth has a skin just like the skin of the hand. There is an outside epidermis, made up of cells and free from capillaries, and beneath that a dermis or true skin crowded with capillaries. Only the epidermis of the mouth is ever so much thinner than that of the hand. The red capillaries easily shine through it, and their moisture can make its way through. ”

“ The skin consists of two layers, the derma, or true skin, and the epidermis, or cuticle. It is the principal seat of the sense of touch, and on the surface of the upper layer are the sensitive papillae, which receive and respond to impressions; and within, or imbedded beneath it, are organs with special functions, viz., the sweat glands, hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Its value as a means of depuration is incalculable, as by it, vast quantities of the aqueous and gaseous refuse matter is conveyed from the body. ”

“ The skin also contains little sacs, or follicles, in which the hairs originate. In its deeper portions are found two kinds of glands; sebaceous glands for the secretion of sebaceous or fatty matter to lubricate the skin, and the perspiratory or sweat glands, the latter of which will receive a more definite description shortly.
The Cuticle, or Epidermis.—At the upper portion of the true skin, new cells are being constantly formed, which become old in a short time and are pressed outward by the formation beneath them of other new cells. ”

“ The hair itself arises from a cornification of the cells of the axis of one of the above processes; and is invested by a sheath similarly formed from the more superficial epidermic cells. A small papilla of the dermis grows into the inner end of the epidermic process when the hair is first formed. The first trace of the hair appears close to this papilla, but soon increases in length, and when the end of the hair projects from the surface, the original solid process of the epidermis becomes converted into an open pit, the lumen of which is filled by the root of the hair. ”

“ Fig. 1 shows a section of ox-hide, cut parallel with the hair, magnified about 50 diam.: a, epithelial layer or epidermis, consisting of horny layer above, and rete malpighi below; b, pars papillaris, and c, pars reticularis of corium, derma, or true skin; d, hairs; e, sebaceous or fat-glands; f, sudoriferous or sweat-glands; g, opening of ducts of sweat-glands; h, erectores pili muscles, for erecting the hair.
The fresh hide consists of 2 layers: an outer, the epidermis; and an inner, the true skin. ”

“ Pimples on the face are usually due to obstruction of the sebaceous glands; sometimes the obstruction leads to inflammation around the sebaceous gland (acne) which often permanently injures the skin.
2. Accumulation of effete matter on the skin occurs, unless frequent ablutions are performed. The epidermis is constantly shedding its older and more superficial parts, in the form of minute scales or “scurf.” In the absence of frequent washing, the scales of epithelium tend to accumulate, the sebaceous secretion matting the scales together, and rendering them more adhesive. ”

“ The cuticle, epidermis, or scarf-skin, as it is indifferently termed, is formed of cells or scales, much flattened and horny in the upper layers, rounder and plumper below. The true skin, or “cutis,” is fibrous in structure, and lies immediately beneath, the two together constituting the skin, properly so called. Beneath lies a layer of tissue filled with fatty globules, and containing the glands by which the perspiration is secreted. ”

“ The true skin is 1/12 to 1⁄8 of an inch in thickness, but in certain parts, as in the lips and ear passages, it is often not more than 1/100 of an inch thick. At the orifices of the body, as at the mouth, ears, and nose, the skin gradually passes into mucous membrane, the structure of the two being practically identical. As the skin is an outside covering, so is the mucous membrane a more delicate inside lining for all cavities into which the apertures open, as the alimentary canal and the lungs. ”

“ The skin is remarkably complex in its structure, and is divided into two distinct layers, which may be readily separated: the deeper layer,—the true skin, dermis, or corium; and the superficial layer, or outer skin,—the epidermis, cuticle, or scarf skin.
The true skin consists of elastic and white fibrous tissue, the bundles of which interlace in every direction. Throughout this feltwork structure which gradually passes into areolar tissue are numerous muscular fibers, as about the hair-follicles and the oil glands. ”

“ But if, the skin being very dry, we suddenly sweat, as after drinking tea, then the little drops which escape from the whole cutaneous surface, not having had time to run together, but remaining separate, we see, by the places where they are, the orifice of the exhalants. Besides, if we examine against the light a considerable portion of epidermis, its transparency allows us to see many small pores separated from each other by interstices, and which pass through it in an oblique direction. ”

“ Experiments in the laboratory and in practice have shown that it is not the dissolving action on the skin substance in the narrow sense which is desired in bating the derm with dogs’ dung, but in order to prepare the hide for the manufacture of a soft and elastic leather, the albuminous intercellular substances and more particularly the layers of fat lying at the roots of the hair, in the corium and in many cases also on the epidermis, must be dissolved and thereby the fibrils of the skin loosened. ”

“ Now, the skin of the head is additionally protected by an oily solution—the sebaceous secretion—which forbids entirely the absorption of any watery hair-dye. So, protected with nature’s waterproof cape and oiled epidermis, it is impossible for an aqueous solution to enter the body and destroy life. ”

“ These glands on the face and forehead frequently appear, on the faces of the young, as small black points, which are incorrectly called "worms." It is true, that occasionally living animalcules are found in this thickened sebaceous matter, but they can only be detected by the aid of the microscope. This sebaceous matter acts not only to keep the skin flexible, and furnish for the hair an oily dressing, but it especially serves to protect the skin and hair, from the acridity arising from the perspiration. ”

“ Remember that “The Ladies' Book of Useful Information” does not teach the use of paint and powder, which is injurious to the skin, but how to make the cheek glow with health, and the neck, arms, and hands to rival the lily in whiteness. It teaches how to cure Greasy Skin, Freckles, Wrinkles, Pimples, Blackheads, Crow's-feet, Blotches, Face Grubs, Tan, Sunburn, Chapped Hands, Sore Lips, etc. It teaches how to cure and prevent redness and roughness, and to make the skin soft, smooth, white and delicate, producing a perfectly healthy and natural appearance. ”

“ Attention to the state of the skin is of great importance in a hygienic point of view. The perspiration and sebaceous matters which are naturally poured out upon the surface of the body, with an intermingling of particles of detached epidermis, fragments of fibres from the dress, dirt, etc., if not removed, gradually form a crust which soon materially interferes with the due excreting action of the skin. ”

“ The patches grow slowly, are milky or dead white, smooth, non-elevated, and of rounded outline; the bordering skin is darker than normal, showing increased pigmentation. Several contiguous spots may coalesce and form a large, irregularly-shaped patch. Hair growing on the involved skin may or may not be blanched. ”

“ F, fat globules and connecting fibres.
We are continually Shedding our Skin. One way in which the skin keeps itself so wonderfully clean and fresh is by continually shedding from its surface showers of these fine, dry, scaly cells, which drop, or are rubbed off, as they dry. This is the reason why no mark, not even a stain or dye, upon the skin, will stay there long; for no matter how deeply it may have soaked into the layers of the pavement-cells, every cell touched by it will ultimately grow up to the surface, dry up, and fall off, carrying the stain with it. ”

“ The skin is a very beautiful, complex and delicate covering of the body. It consists of six layers, and contains arteries, capillaries, lymphatics, nerves, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pigment, etc. So you see that the care of the skin involves much. One writer has said, "At the skin man ends and the outlying universe begins." ”

“ Sometimes on the ninth, tenth, and eleventh Day, during the Maturation, the Face, from the Colour of the digested Matter, beneath the Skin, grows pale, and sometimes white as a Sheet, with little Swelling or Elevation of the Cheeks, Lips or Nose, which is a Case always very dangerous, and most commonly fatal ”

“ The skin itself, as is known to everyone, is an envelope which contains the whole body within it. It is composed of three separate layers, the outer being insensible, and laid on as a protection to the delicate and tender structures which lie beneath. It is hardly possible to convey to the general reader a notion of the intricate and wonderfully complicate nature of the dermis, or true skin. ”

“ In this process, the skin imbibes a considerable quantity of lime, which has the effect of either removing from the hide or skin, a portion of the gelatinous substance, in the form of soluble gelatine, or, of altering the gelatinous fibre, so as to render it incapable of speedily and effectually combining with the tannin or tannic acid, and the pores of the skin are so impregnated with lime, as to prevent the tanning principle from operating freely, or reaching the heart of the skins. ”

“ In order to understand the value of bathing we must glance briefly at the anatomy and physiology of the skin. In the first place, we have on the entire outer surface of the body a layer of membrane, like thin leather, called the epidermis or cuticle ”

“ The liquid sweat, which in the ordinary state of the body is only given off in sufficient amount to prevent the skin from becoming over-dry, is secreted by the sudoriferous glands, whose ducts terminate in large numbers on the surface at every part. There is in the third place an oily material, formed for a similar purpose by the sebaceous glands, which are widely distributed, but fewer in number than the last. ”

“ Between the two is placed the mucous layer, of which the pigment alone in reality varies in quantity and colour according to the race.
All the colours presented by the human skin have two common elements, the white of the dermis and the red of the blood. Moreover, each has its own proper element, resulting from the colourings of the pigment. The rays reflected from these different tissues combine into a resultant which produces the different tints and traverses the epidermis. ”

“ On the surface of the skin there is secreted a substance, which, though varying in anatomical structure and appearance exceedingly, as it forms the fine epidermis, the nails, the hair, etc., is yet throughout all their shapes identical in chemical character, and may be described as the same substance. ”

“ One dram each of camphor and flowers of sulphur in four ounces of rose-water is a good lotion for external use. Do not pick or squeeze pimples, unless pus has formed in them. Nothing is more disgusting than a face broken out in pus-filled pimples. See a physician if thus afflicted.
FRECKLES.—These have been poetically called "the kisses of the sun," but no girl cares for evidences of that sort of affection. Prevention is easier than cure. Simple home remedies are lemon juice and glycerin, sour buttermilk, and elderflower soap used in bathing. ”

“ It is a small fine Skin, transparent and insensible, having also innumerable Pores for the discharging of Sweat, and other Humours by imperceptible Transpiration: It is extended over the whole inner Skin, to dull its too exquisite Sense, by covering the Extremities of the Nerves which are there terminated. It also renders the same Skin even and smooth, and so contributes very much to Beauty. ”

“ Seborrhœa (Eczema Seborrhoicum) . Synonyms: (Steatorrhœa; Acne sebacea; Ichthyosis sebacea; Dandruff.)
What is seborrhœa?
Seborrhœa is a disease of the sebaceous glands, characterized by an excessive and abnormal secretion of sebaceous matter, appearing on the skin as an oily coating, crusts, or scales.
In many cases the sweat-glands are likewise implicated, and the process may also be distinctly, although usually mildly, inflammatory. [Pg 34]
At what age is seborrhœa usually observed?
Between fifteen and forty. It may, however, occur at any age. ”

“ Care must be exercised to apply only enough pressure to expel the contents of the skin without disturbing the tissues which lie nearest to the epidermis, in which the pigments are located, and not to remove the hairs which are attached to the body. ”

“ People in general are not aware how important frequent bathing is. The cuticle, or skin, with which the human body is covered, is like fine net-work, or lace. By help of a magnifying-glass, called a microscope, it can be seen that there are a thousand holes in every inch of our skin. ”

“ With the most complete reduction effected by the highest operation of light, its substratum or under-layer becomes black. The mucus passes over into reduced carbon. Beneath the vitreous epidermis there is thus a metallic pigmentary membrane.
Hairs.
2276. Capillary vessels, which simply convey mucus, but are elongated singly above and from out the cutis, are Hairs. The idea of the hair is a capillary vessel, the contents of which are no longer blood, but reduced mucus. It is an indifferent capillary vessel. The hair is hollow and contains an oil, which determines the colour. ”