Acne

Causes of Acne:

To best understand why acne happens, picture this: Most of our skin is covered with tiny follicles that contain oil-producing sebaceous glands.  Along with these sebaceous glands, we also have tiny hairs growing up inside small canals within each follicle.  The place on the skin's surface where each follicular canal opens is called a pore.

Clear skin (without eruptions) occurs when the cells lining the canal shed regularly and are carried out by the oil produced by the sebaceous glands through the pore to the skin's surface.  A problem begins when cells clump together, causing a plug.  Then the excess oil being produced by the sebaceous glands starts to build up behind the plug.  At the same time, the normal bacteria in the follicle start to increase, feeding on the oil and blocking the pore.  When the blockage or plug, reaches the surface of the skin, it appears as a blackhead, caused when the dead skin cells and oil fill the pore and are visible.  Plugs that remain just below the skin's surface are whiteheads.

Many people have inflammatory acne, which occurs when the skin bacteria produce irritating substances that may break into the skin surrounding the follicle.  Then, "pus pimples" (small pus-filled lumps), papules (small red lumps that protrude above the skin's surface), nodules (large red lumps that protrude above the skin's surface), and cysts may form. This type of acne, called cystic acne, is the most severe and requires treatment by a dermatologist.

Fluctuating hormones can also contribute to acne breakouts, which is why teenagers tend to break out, why women break out around their periods, and why women may break out during pregnancy and postpartum.

Hormones cause oil elands to enlarge and to produce more oil during puberty and throughout the teen years.

Also, during those years, the follicle wall thickens and cells clump together, blocking the follicular canal.  The areas with the largest, most active oil glands-the forehead, nose, and chin (T zone) on the neck, back, shoulders, and chest.

In addition, anything that puts pressure on certain parts of the skin may bring on what's called “friction acne” This term applies to blemishes that occur where pressure is applied to skin, such as around the mouth of flute player or on the side of the face and around the chin of people who considerable time on the phone, cradling it with their face and chin.