Causes of Acne - What are they?

By Allan Johns


The cause of acne, for most sufferers, is the change of hormones within the human body upon reaching 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.

Extra oil produced by sebaceous glands is meant to keep the skins surface smooth and supple, can often be the root cause of acne.

When our skins natural oil gathers in and around surface pores, it provides the perfect breeding ground for harmful bacteria. This then becomes the cause of acne and spots and pimples develop inside the now blocked pore.

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.

Acne can also be a hereditary condition. It does tend to run in families leading specialists to believe there may also be a genetic cause of acne.

Sometimes, certain drugs we are prescribed to treat other ailments can be a possible cause of acne. These include steroids and oral contraceptives. Despite this, there are certain hormone regulating oral contraceptives, which are actually prescribed to treat acne and certain other skin problems.

Androgens are perhaps the most common cause of acne and the sufferers of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) have extremely high levels of androgens as it is one of the symptoms of the condition. Therefore, PCOS sufferers are highly likely to develop skin problems and acne.

Acne can often cause extensive scarring, leaving unpleasant marks on the skin, sometimes for life. To minimise the chances of this happening, it is important for the acne sufferer to try and resist picking and squeezing at spots as this causes the infection to travel deeper into the skin, hence initiating further damage.

Large, very painful cysts are the result of acute inflammatory acne. These large cysts, lying under the surface of the skin can result in scarring more often than not, as they tend to spread and rupture even if they are left alone and not picked and squeezed at. This type of acne can be the most distressing for the individual.

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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