All acne sufferers ask the question "what causes acne?", and because there are so many myths I've decided to write a post on the real causes of acne. Below I've posted a short video on some of the main causes of acne. I always believe it's good to see a visual representation as it can be easier to understand and when it comes to acne it is vitally important to understand the causes so you know exactly how to treat your skin.
Let me give you a brief overview of how acne is formed under the skin. Everybody has a different trigger for their acne be it hormonal, hereditary or stress related (there are many triggers) but in most cases the actual formation of acne remains the same.
In a healthy hair follicle the sebaceous glands produce sebum (oil) which drains naturally through the follicle to the surface of the skin. It is this oil that keeps the skin naturally moisturized and prevents it from drying out.
However in people with overactive sebaceous glands excess sebum is produced which in turns mixes with the dead skin cells in your follicles and clogs or plugs the pore (opening of the follicle). The acne bacteria cannot survive in the presence of oxygen but because the pore is blocked the acne can begin to thrive and multiply. This in turn causes inflammation around the follicle and an inflammatory pimple is formed.
I will be discussing the differences between inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne in more detail soon.
Below are some of the main causes of acne which is important to know when it comes to finding a suitable treatment.
Is It My Hormones?
The first major cause of acne I would like to talk about is hormonal. Acne is considered to be a mainly hormonal condition and this is one of the reasons that children do not suffer from acne.
Most people associate acne with the teenage years and in the majority of cases this is true as the hormones are going crazy during puberty. Unfortunately acne is not confined to just teenagers and you won't necessarily grow out of it by your early twenties (I was one of the unlucky ones).
Hormonal imbalances occur several times in our lifetime and women in particular are more at risk of developing adult acne due to hormonal changes during menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. If you are a woman you may have been prescribed a low dose of birth control pills.
Oral contraceptive pills consist of progestin and estrogen. (I understand you are probably not here for a science lesson so I won't go into the fine details). Basically birth control pills reduce the amount of testosterone within the body and can often improve hormonal acne.
By reducing the amount of testosterone within the body the amount of oil produced by the sebaceous glands is also reduced. If this oil (sebum) mixes with dead skin cells in the pores/follicles and becomes clogged, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria which can lead to acne.
Most people associate acne with the teenage years and in the majority of cases this is true as the hormones are going crazy during puberty. Unfortunately acne is not confined to just teenagers and you won't necessarily grow out of it by your early twenties.
Hormonal acne however can be treated effectively through an effective treatment regime using the correct products.
Is Acne Hereditary?
The next topic I would like to discuss is on hereditary acne. The problem with getting information on hereditary acne is unless you have access to an extremely detailed family tree it can be very difficult to trace any acne sufferers in your family genes.
As far as I am aware neither my mother or father suffered with acne yet myself and two of my sisters all had acne, with my eldest sister having quite severe acne and cysts.
I only recently discovered that my uncle on my mothers side had acne when he was a teenager, but that is as much information as I could find on acne sufferers in my family.
Unfortunately when it comes to genetics there is not a lot we can do to treat acne. However I believe that it is completely pointless worrying about whether your acne is hereditary or not and if you are an acne sufferer than you probably have enough on your mind. Please do not stress about something you cannot change..and that brings me nicely on to my next topic...Stress
But I think you've taken in enough information for now so I'll discuss that in detail tomorrow.
Please feel free to comment on any post :)
James
Here's my Guide To Clear Skin
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