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.

Occurring in about 80% of adolescents, acne most often affects the face, neck, back and chest. The cause of acne is the surge in the production of hormones called androgens, which are the culprits behind the overstimulation of sebum from the sebaceous (oil) producing glands.

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 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.

Besides androgens, there are other hormones that have been found to be a cause of acne. Cortisol is produced at higher levels when humans are affected by stress and it has been scientifically proven to aggravate acne.

Unfortunately, our genes can be a cause of acne as it has been found to also be a hereditary condition. Specialists who have studied acne within families believe we are more likely to develop the condition if other family members are also sufferers.

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.

There are, in women, certain medical conditions that can be the reason for acne. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) also causes excessive amounts of androgens to be produced, with lots of other unpleasant side effects.

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.

Acute inflammatory acne resulting in the development of large cysts under the surface of the skin can occur in some people. Sadly, even if the sufferer resists the urge to pick at these cysts, they usually result in scars due to their tendency to spread and rupture spontaneously.

Poor diet and poor hygiene though often cited are not the root cause of acne, although it is obvious that if a person fails to regularly wash their skin and remove all traces of make-up, problems with their skin will occur.




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