Acne and Why We Have It

Acne is a general term for pimples and deeper pustules that are clogged pores. If severe enough acne can leave permanent scars. Scarring is what you want to avoid. Stop popping those zits! Pimples pop up for a lot of reasons. Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths about why. Despite what your friends and mom might say, chocolate, French fries and pizza aren’t among the causes of pimples. You just don’t get pimples from what you eat, unless you are allergic to something in which case you’d get hives not zits.

Acne is an inflammatory skin disorder of the skin’s sebaceous glands and hair follicles that affects about 80% of people between the ages of 12 and 24. During puberty high levels of hormones are produced in both girls and boys. This leads to the production of large quantities of sebum. Sebum is an irritant that can clog the pores and form a pimple which may become infected and form a pustule. Hormones don’t go away after adolescence. Many women still get premenstrual acne from of the release of progesterone after ovulation.

The sebaceous glands located in each hair follicle or tiny pit of skin, produce oil that lubricate the skin and keep it soft. Sebaceous glands are found in large numbers on the face, back, chest and shoulders. If this oil becomes trapped, bacteria multiply in the follicle and the skin becomes inflamed. Acne is NOT caused by dirty pores but most likely by over active oil glands. The excess oil makes the pores sticky allowing bacteria to become trapped inside. Blackheads form when sebum combines with skin pigments and plugs the pores. If scales below the surface of the skin become filled with sebum “white heads” appear. Dirt, dust, oils and pollution can clog pores too. Eliminate this problem by washing your skin with an oil-free acne wash. In severe cases white heads build up, spread under the skin and rupture, which eventually spreads the inflammation. Factors that contribute to acne include heredity, oily skin and hormones. Other factors that contribute to acne are allergies, stress, the menstrual cycle, nutritional deficiencies, over-washing and repeated rubbing of the skin.

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