Oil associated with dead skin cells removes the pollutant ozone, a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms. In fact the oil, squalene, reduces indoor ozone levels by about 2 to 15 percent.

Squalene is primarily obtained from deep-sea shark liver oil, which accounts for 40–70% of the liver mass. Annually, three to six million deep-sea sharks are killed for squalene due to its human ...

Squalene chemical similarity to human skin sebum has made it a popular component in natural cosmetic formulas designed to soften and protect the skin.