Acne The Facts And The Myths

Acne, also known as a zit or pimple, is one of the most common facial beauty issues for both boys and girls. Usually acne starts at puberty and for some people continues well after high school and into adulthood. It is not uncommon at all for adult men and women to have bouts of acne breakouts.

Beneath our skin is where it all starts. Oil glands produce an oily substance called sebum. The skin pores, the tiny holes on our skin on the surface, connects to the oil glands beneath through a canal called a follicle. The sebum travels from the glands using the canal to reach the surface of our skin carrying with it dead skin cells. Hair also grows out through this canal and out of the skin pore.

When the follicle gets clogs up, trapping inside it the sebum and hair is an early sign of acne. This mixture of oil and dead cells allows bacteria that normally live on the skin to grow inside this plugged canal. This leads to a non-inflammatory type of acne called whitehead or blackhead, which is close to the surface and is usually a small outbreak.

Our body reacts to the chemicals and enzymes produced by the bacteria by sending white blood cells to the infected area causing it to inflame. This can cause swelling and redness and pain and if the wall of the clogged follicle breaks down, it spills everything to the neighboring skin leading to lesions. These are the inflammatory type of acne.

This may sound as if science has figured out the cause of acne and that there should now be a definite solution to this skin problem. Unfortunately, doctors are still in the dark as to the actual cause of acne or the reason why the follicle becomes blocked. Doctors think that the following factors can trigger acne breakouts:

. Hormones. Increases in hormone activity starting at puberty or hormonal changes during pregnancy. The male hormone called Androgen is also considered to be an active factor in acne formation and could be the reason why boys are more often prone to acne than girls.

. Makeup. Some types of makeup, most especially greasy types, are known to clog skin pores.

. Medicine. Some women, for example, react to birth control pills with breakouts of acne.

. Heredity. If your father or mother had acne breakouts as teenagers, then you are, most likely than not, going to have acne breakouts as well.

There are also myths associated with acne, whether it is for prevention or the cause of acne. Some of these myths can be pretty surprising while others you have probably heard of already:

. Stress. Stress has sometimes been pointed at as the cause of acne breakouts in adults. Since hormones is a factor in acne breakouts and stress can cause hormonal imbalance, especially in women, then this can sometimes be true.

. Chocolate or greasy food. It is a common notion that greasy food, including chocolate, can cause acne breakouts. But this is slowly being proven to be not the case.

. Tanning can clear the skin of acne. While a tan skin may mask the presence of acne, it doubtful that tanning can actually treat or prevent acne. There is no direct evidence that sunlight can improve the skin’s resistance to acne.

. Washing your face often prevents breakouts. Washing is recommended to remove dirt and makeup from pores but frequent washing can cause dryness and irritation, which can actually result in more acne breakouts.

. Popping pimples helps make acne go away faster. Popping pimple or zits may actually result in the reverse. It can push the bacteria further down causing more swelling.

. Only teenagers have acne. As we mentioned earlier, acne can occur well after the teen years.

. Acne can be cured. There is no known cure for acne but breakouts can be treated effectively.

. Poor hygiene can cause acne. Dirt doesn’t cause acne and if you wash too much, this can lead to dry skin and can actually make acne worse.

. Sex or masturbation can cause acne. The sex hormone testosterone is a major contributor to an acne flare up but sexual activity has no direct cause or effect on acne.

The uncertainty of the actual cause of acne has resulted in a flood of different remedies and treatments. However, it is always best to consult with a dermatologist.

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