To get rid of acne, one of the most important things is to find out what exactly causes acne. Some people think that sugary and fatty foods can cause acne, others think that improper face cleaning is to blame. But actually there isn’t one specific thing that causes acne. There can be several reasons that can cause and aggravate your acne so it’s good to learn them and create a regime that can help you get rid of acne.
How and why acne happens
Acne is usually caused when the sebaceous glands on your face or other parts of your body start to produce really high quantity of oils, which is stimulated by the male hormones. The oil secretion is a natural body product, that moisturizes and protects your skin.
In some cases, the follicles that are located near the surface of your skin, start to collect oil and become clogged. And actually this is how blackheads are made. Sometimes, if you touch your blackheads or even if you don’t touch them, the bacteria that normally live on your skin starts to multiply. This causes inflammation of the surrounding tissue and an acne appears.
Depending on the site of the inflammation, the following types of acne can occur:
- Pustule – When the inflammation just below the surface of your skin
- Papules (pimple) – When the inflammation is a little bit more deeply situated
- Cyst – When the inflammation is deeply situated
There are several different factors that can cause acne. Here are some:
What exactly causes acne
Causes of acne – Hereditary factor
With the exception of very severe forms of acne, most people doesn’t seem to have the same skin problems as their parents. Almost everyone suffers from acne at least once in their lives, that’s why many people say that the hereditary factor has nothing to do with acne. But scientists say that the hereditary factor does have a say in the appearance of acne, and chances are, if your parents had acne you’ll have it too.
Causes of acne – Nutrition
Parents usually recommend their children to avoid foods that are rich in fat like fried foods and sweet foods like chocolate. These foods are certainly not good for your health, but they don’t really cause acne either. Instead, avoid dairy products because they can cause acne.
Causes of acne – Pollution and humidity
Some people have more oily skin than others (the black top of the blackheads is oxidized substances, not dirt) and pollution and humidity can cause them acne. When the climate is humid and there’s also a pollution, your face will start to sweat and the moisture will attract more dirt. Dirt and moisture is a great breeding ground for bacteria and all this things combined can definitely worsen your acne. Sweat doesn’t cause acne by itself and therefore the frequent face washing won’t solve the problem. On the other hand, the constant face washing can really dry and irritate your skin.
Causes of acne – Stress
Stress by itself doesn’t seem to play a significant role in the appearance of acne. But stress hormones in some cases can make your skin secrete a higher amount of oils which can aggravate the problem. The main thing that stress does, is it makes people to rub, scratch or squeeze their pimples, and that’s actually what it makes acne worse.
Causes of acne – Hormones
Juvenile (teenage) acne almost always begins with increased production of hormones. During puberty, both boys and girls begin to produce relatively high levels of androgens – male sex hormones, (including testosterone). These hormones send signals to our body to produce more sebum – a waxy substance that normally helps the skin stay moisturized but it can also clog your pores and cause acne. Teenage acne usually passes as you reach adulthood.
But people can get acne in their adulthood too. A small group of women tend to break out when they get their period, but this doesn’t apply to most of them, and it definitely doesn’t apply to men. But hormones, and to be precise, male sex hormones (androgens) can be the cause of adult acne in both men and women.
Causes of acne – Cosmetic products
Most cosmetic products are made not to clog your pores. However, we recommend you to pick the creams and foundations according to your skin type. They shouldn’t contain any oils that are too haeavy and that can clog your pores. Instead, if you have oily and acne prone skin, choose moisturizers that have gel of water based formula that won’t make your acne worse.
Causes of acne – Skin pressure
In some people, skin pressure (with helmet, tight cap or collar) may aggravate the acne condition. Also skin picking can definitely make your acne worse, so avoid touching and picking your acne.
Causes of acne – Medications
Some drugs may cause or worsen acne. These are medication that usually contain iodides, bromides, or steroids. In most cases the acne isn’t caused by medications. Some birth control pills may trigger the symptoms of acne in some women, but in others it can have the opposite effect – it can suppress acne.
Causes of acne – Bacteria
Excessive amount of sebum clogs the openings of the hair follicles, especially on the face, neck, chest and back. This makes a favorable environment for bacterial growth. As a result, many people start to get comedones, also called ‘non-inflammatory acne’. Sometimes the wall of the follicle can pop as a result of increased pressure and when this happens, the sebum goes into the surrounding tissue and bacteria gets in and starts to grow. This is how a pustule is formed, also called inflammatory acne. If the process goes more deep into the skin, cysts can be formed, which almost always leave a temporary or permanent scar.
