Various Causes of Acne

Acne is a condition which does not leave any body unaffected by it. Nearly all the adolescent suffer from it in milder or severe versions. It is the most widely spread disorder in the world crossing all borders, genders and classes.

We have pilosebaceous units, comprised of hair follicle, sebaceous glands and hair, all over the body except palms, soles, lower lip and top of the feet. These are in high number on face, chest and upper neck. Acne is the disorder of this unit. Sebum is produced in these sebaceous glands to keep the skin moisturized. In puberty, there is increased production of sebum.

Acne is the one of the most common skin condition, especially during puberty age. Testosterone, a hormone found in all males and females is responsible for this. During puberty there is increase in production of this hormone and due to this sebaceous glands in our body become more active and start secreting more oil on the skin surface.

When acne occurs in premenstrual period, it is due to change in balance of estrogen and androgen in blood. Acne occurs when this balance is in favour of androgen.

Besides these two factors discussed above, other factors which lead to acne formation may one or more of the following.

A diet which has more concentration of fats and starch is often held responsible for acne.

A sedentary lifestyle.

Intestinal stasis

Acne get aggravated by excessive use of greasy cosmetics, detergents etc.

A kind of acne; acne vulagaris, may be hereditary.

Rubbing, kicking or picking of pimples make the acne situation worse.

Contrary to popular belief, over washing can aggravate the acne condition. When you repeatedly cleanse your skin, it gets dried because of stripping of natural oils of the skin. It stimulates sebaceous glands to produce more sebum to compensate. In the same way. Excessive use of astringent skin care products also make the skin dry and stimulate sebum glands to produce more sebum.

If you are suffering from acne and more use of abrasive exfoliators damage the existing lesions and spread the infections.

Mishandling of blackheads and whiteheads by squeezing and picking them, can lead to scars.

Hormones: Culprit behind Acne

Acne formation in first phase starts during puberty in almost all the people. This is because at this time body starts producing hormones, testosterone, at higher levels. Due to this increased production of hormones, there is stimulation in sebaceous glands of the skin. This increase sebum production leads to enlargement of skin pores too secrete more oil. When this extra sebum secreted gets mixed with dead skin cells, it blocks the skin pores. In addition to this normal bacteria are also present on the skin surface and get mixed with this debris of oil and dead skin cells. The inflammation felt in acne lesions is due to multiplied activity of bacteria.

Stress can aggravate Acne

Stress can aggravate acne as a hormone called cortisol is produced due to stress and is also called stress hormone. Adrenal glands, near kidney, produce this hormone. Adrenal glands control very important function of regulation of blood pressure, controlling the usage of protein, carbohydrates and fats. When cortisol is produced, this important function gets disturbed and aggravates acne.

Bacteria: Cause infection

A bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes normally stays on the skin. It is there on all types of skin. This bacterium is the part of natural sebum maintenance system. It uses sebum as its nutrition and it grows in puberty. When a follicle gets plugged because of excess oil production and dead skin cells, it gives right conditions for these bacteria to multiply in accelerated mode. This causes inflammation in follicle and the skin, surrounding the follicle.

Inflammation

When this bacterium which is an unwanted, foreign element in the system, our body reacts and counteracts it by action of white blood cells to kill the bacteria. It causes reddening of pimples, swelling and pain there. This is the inflammatory response and causes inflammation in acne.