What Causes Acne?

Acne is not fully understood, but we do know some of the biology behind it. The main culprit is the excess production of an oily substance called sebum whose function is to keep skin and hair lubricated and supple. During adolescence, the body often produces excess amounts of sebum. The sebum combines with naturally occurring dead skin cells to block hair follicles which prevents the sebum from escaping.

The resulting block up of oil beneath the surface of the skin provides an ideal environment for bacteria. The bacteria multiply and the skin area becomes red and inflamed resulting in what is commonly called a pimple.

The excess production of sebum is caused by the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone is present in both males and females, but during puberty, the body changes the way it reacts to the presence of testosterone. It is this abnormal reaction, characteristically appearing during adolescence, that causes the skin (especially on the face and upper torso) to become excessively oily. By the early 20s, the body usually normalizes its reaction to testosterone and acne clears up.

Acne seems to be partly hereditary, but we don't know exactly why some people are affected by it and others are not. Some of the factors which seem to aggravate acne conditions include stress, diet, skin irritation, certain medications, and hormonal activities such as menstrual cycles.

Medications that are associated with acne include anabolic steroids used for bodybuilding, lithium, barbiturates, halogens, and androgens. Dietary links seem to be mostly related to skim milk products. Many people associate food like chocolate and fast food with pimples, but there is no statistical evidence that this type of food causes or aggravates acne.

Recently, scientific attention has been focusing on the possibility that narrowing hair follicles could be at least partially to blame for acne. The hair follicles may become restricted due to several possible causes including excessive shedding of cells within the follicle, abnormal cell binding, or water retention which causes the skin to swell. The narrower hair follicles prevent dead cells from being expelled from the body, causing an excessive buildup underneath the skin, which combined with sebum creates the conditions for acne.

Many people are tempted to pop or squeeze their pimples, but this may only serve to spread the bacteria to the surrounding skin area making the condition even worse than before. Popping pimples may also lead to scarring which in severe cases can be permanent.

Simply touching the face can also make acne become worse. It is a difficult habit to overcome -- most of us touch our faces repeatedly throughout the day. The problem for acne sufferers is that the hands also contain oils and bacteria which will exacerbate acne symptoms. In fact, all objects that come into contact with the face must be clean. This includes eyeglasses and telephone handsets.

Hair (especially long hair) also comes into contact with our faces so it is important to keep hair clean and oil free. Clothing accessories like headbands or hats should be avoided or used as little as possible.

Tips for Keeping Your Skin Acne Free

Tips for Keeping Your Skin Acne Free

There are many things that you can do in order to enable yourself to keep acne at bay. There is no fool proof method that will work for everyone when it comes to acne removal, but there are many things that may be able to help you to control it. You may be able to prevent it from happening to you. Or, you may be able to lessen the amount with which is happens. In any case, treating your acne is something that you will need to do, especially when you are facing severe cases of it.

Proper Cleansing

Because acne is mainly caused by bacteria that get into the pores on your face, the first real thing that you need to do is to keep this from happening. While there is no way to stop it from getting onto your face, it is possible for you to remove it before it becomes a problem. You should purchase a good quality cleansing product. There are many on the market but you will want to look for those that have antibacterial qualities to it. This will help to rid your skin of bacteria.

No matter how well you wash your face, though, there may still be bacteria lurking there. Another thing that you should do to help keep it at bay is to use exfoliating products. The dead skin cells that are on your skin can contribute to your level of acne. First, they can actually block your pores and contribute to the oil blockage which in turn can lead to acne. The dead cells also can be used by bacteria as a food source so that they can breed. Removing them is quite simple, though. You will simply need to use exfoliating skin care products which are readily available.

When That’s Not Enough

For many individuals, just washing their face and skin properly is enough to lower the amount of acne that they face. For others, though, this is not enough. These individuals should seek out the help of their dermatologist. It may be necessary to use products to help regulate the oil production in the skin. Medications can help by turning off the oil glands there. When it comes to treating and preventing acne, there are many products on the market that can help. The most effective thing that you can do, though, is to insure that you use them regularly as directed. Most of them need to be used on a regular basis if they are to help. Not everyone can have a clear complexion, but many will find relief in these products for acne prevention as well as acne treatment.

Acne, Acne Causes and Acne Treatments

What Is Acne?

If you are one of the thousands that will purchase acne treatment products this year, before you invest your money, you need to know several things about what is happening to your face, your chest and your body. Often, individuals blame the acne on their body on puberty. But, it can be caused by many more things as well. For some, it is just this, puberty. For others there are other conditions that may be causing the acne to appear. If you take the time to understand why you have acne, you are likely to learn how you can treat your acne.

Acne is an infection on your skin. Normally, it happens because bacteria get into your pores where it breeds. Once the skin becomes irritated by this, it will then react in the form of sores. This is the acne that you see on your face.

Acne is generally caused by the occurrence of the bacteria on your face and increased amounts of oils on the face which make it a welcoming place for bacteria to go and hide. These two things are generally the case for most types of acne. But, there are different things that cause them to happen. This is what you need to learn in order to know how to treat your bacteria.

• The oils that are being secreted at high levels may be due to hormone imbalances that are caused by such things as puberty, stress, health issues and other conditions.
• Bacteria can get onto the face from a poor level of keeping your face and your skin properly cleaned.
• Bacteria can feed on the dead skin cells that are not properly exfoliated away, making this a more likely target for growth.
• Eating a poor diet can help to encourage oily skins as well as lowers the body’s ability to fight off the infections that it is facing.

To learn what is causing your acne problems, you should carefully think about what is happening in your life and improve anything that you may see as an obvious reason why your body may be facing these factors. In most cases, you will need to seek out the help of your family doctor or a dermatologist when it comes to determining your body’s reasons for over producing oil secretion in your skin. This can be done through a blood screening or in some cases your doctor may not need to do anything to realize that this problem needs to be addressed. These are the first steps in getting rid of your acne.

Acne, Acne Causes and Acne Treatments

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Here you will find information on acne, acne causes and acne treatments.