Acne Skin Care

Acne may have started in your teen years, that time when age and hormones meet to cause those awful breakouts. It is a common problem that many teenagers face. However, many adults suffer from acne as well. Women typically develop acne during their menstrual cycle. Cause is hormones surge before or during menstrual cycles causing excess oil to clog pores. Acne may appear as deeper lumps (cysts or nodules) on the face, neck, chest, back and sometimes shoulders.

Cause of Acne

Hormones: When you become a teenager and go through puberty, your body makes more hormones (especially androgen hormones) that can cause too much oil or sebum to be made. Sebum is supposed to carry dead skin cells up to the surface of the skin, but when there is too much of it, it clogs the pores leading to whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, and cysts.

Clogged pores: Acne is caused by clogged pores that contain a hair and sebaceous (oil) gland. The medical term, “acne vulgaris” is the most common kind of acne. It can show up anywhere on the body but it is usually found on the face, back, shoulders, and chest. Pores become clogged by dead skin cells and oil (sebum) made in the pore.

Extra oil or sebum: There are oil glands on your chest, face and back numbering in the thousands. In fact, between the nose and cheek areas there are as many as two thousand oil glands every square inch. The function of these oil glands is to lubricate the skin by producing oil, or sebum. As the process advances, greater amounts of oil may be produced within the sebaceous glands, though the change in composition and quality of the oil may be more important than the quantity. The scale produced on the inside walls of the hair follicle becomes stickier, and it builds up and blocks the pore. This shows up as whiteheads and blackheads (comedones).

Bacteria: The acne bacteria as known “Propionobacterium acnes” that grow and multiply in the retained oil. The sebum acts as a nutrition source for the bacteria, which in turn releases chemicals within the pore. These alert and attract white cells from the blood, and that’s what leads to inflammation. On the skin, the inflammation is seen as pimples or zits.

Acne Prevention and Treatment

To reduce acne and its damage to your skin, there are several medications, therapies, techniques, and tips available to acne scar skin care.

Clean your skin twice a day (morning and before bed) with a cleanser specially formulated for acne. These products often contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, which help to clear acne sores. Clean your face gently, as trauma to the acne breakouts may worsen the acne or cause scarring. When washing your face, use your hands, as any terrycloth or other scrubbing material may cause acne sores to rupture. And after you exercise, Wash your face to remove oil.

Use oil-free moisturizers on the market that contain anti-bacterial agents for acne-prone skin. If you wear makeup, use an oil-free foundation. Heavy makeup or other cosmetic products that block pores may cause a flare-up of acne.

Wash your hands before touching your face skin. And try not to rest your chin, cheek, or forehead on your hand because your hands may have touched all of the things during the day. Breaking this habit may help to clear up most of your problem areas.

Remember when using over the counter acne medicine. Stop the acne medicine if you have any side effects.