What is the Cause of Acne?

By Allan Johns

Acne is an unpleasant skin condition and for most sufferers. The main cause of acne is a change of hormones within the body when a person reaches puberty.

About 80% of all adolescents are affected at some point, with spots and pimples occurring on the face, back, chest and neck of the individual. Androgens, a type of hormone, can trigger the sebaceous glands into the over-production of sebum (oil), which is usually the main cause of acne.

Intended to keep the skin supple and smooth, the sebaceous glands produce extra oil, which can unfortunately be the underlying cause of acne.

When oil on the skins surface combines with dead skin cells and bacteria, pores become blocked. This then becomes a cause of acne and the bacteria inside the blocked pore starts to multiply, resulting in spots and pimples.

There are many products available that are supposed to maintain healthy skin and inhibit acne. However, many of them contain ingredients that are actually too harsh and trigger the sebaceous glands into the overproduction of sebum, which is the actual cause of acne.

Other hormones besides androgens have been found to be a cause of acne. Cortisol is produced as a result of stress and studies have proved that acne can be aggravated by it's rising levels.

Specialists studying acne have discovered that there is a genetic link. If acne affects members of your gene sharing family, then you are unfortunately more likely to become a sufferer yourself.

Steroids and oral contraceptives, both prescribed drugs, have been found to be a cause of acne in some people. However, due to their varying ingredients, some types of oral contraceptives are often prescribed as an effective treatment for acne and sufferers of some other skin problems.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) occurs in some women and causes extremely high levels of androgens to be produced. Androgens are a main cause of acne and PCOS sufferers are therefore likely to develop many unpleasant symptoms including skin problems and acne.

Severe scarring is often caused by acne, leaving the sufferer with unpleasant marks on their skin that often remain for life. However, the chances of scarring can be greatly reduced if the urge to pick and squeeze spots is resisted as these actions can cause the infection to travel deeper into the skin tissue, causing extensive damage.

Unfortunately, in some individuals, severe inflammatory acne with large cysts develops beneath the skin's surface. Even if left alone, these cysts can rupture causing the infection to spread and usually result in scars.

The root cause of acne is neither a poor diet or poor hygiene, although it goes without saying that if a person does not wash their face or ensure their make-up is removed, bacteria is sure to breed on the skins surface and spots will occur.

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