What is Acne?
How does acne develop? Our skin has multiple small openings called pores and the pores are connected to our oil glands beneath the skin via a follicle. Our oil glands produce sebum that carries our dead skin cells to the surface through the follicle. Every follicle has a very thin hair that grows through it and out through the pore to the surface.
Now the follicle has multiple cells to form walls around it called keratinocytes, the cells around the follicle are dead skin cells that healthy skin normally can push out by the hair that grows in the follicle. Sometimes the dead skin cells and sebum clump together around the hair this is known as a plug, the bacteria that is in the plug can then cause swelling, howevery once the plug is broken down the swelling reduces but you will get a white head or a blackhead called comedomes that will then form.
In some cases the plug is too severe and causes damage to the follicles walls the walls then start to break under pressure causing sebum and bacteria to release to nearby tissue forming a papule or pustule and this is how inflammatory acne develops.
There are multiple reasons your follicles can get clogged, excess growth of skin cells or a potential condition named [Hyper keratinisation] this is were keratin a protein binds the skin cells together causing an overflow and preventing the skin from properly breaking down the cells causing the follicle to clog.
Common places you get acne.
| Face | Neck | Shoulders | Back | Chest |
Types of Acne?
Blackheads - [pimples that are black in colour on the surface however it is not dirt, it’s excess oil & skin]
Cysts - [Painful deep pimples filled with pus that can cause scarring]
Nodules - [Pimples that are painful, hard and deep in the skin]
Papule’s - [Small bumps that are pink in colour and tender]
Pustules - [Pimples that have a white tip however are mainly red]
Whiteheads - [Pimples that are filled with pus beneath the skin]
Who can develop Acne?
Acne is one of the most popular skin diseases that anyone off any age or race can develop and is mainly found in developed countries, it is mostly common between the ages of 11 to 30 with over 80% of people getting acne/breakouts however acne is normally developed between the ages of 10 to 13, If a teenager develops acne they generally suffer for five to ten years potentially until their early 20s, at this age guys generally don’t have a severe case however acne is still present in all genders.
Acne can also be found in older people with over 20% of people In their 40s, 50s reporting breakouts, acne is however more common in females above the age of 30.
What might cause acne?
Testosterone:
A natural hormone found in females and males for sexual behaviour helping build protein, bone formation, liver function, carbohydrate metabolism and the production of blood cells however men have 4 times to 75 times more testosterone explaining why men are more prone to acne because testosterone increases sebum production and makes you shred more dead skin cells.
Dairy:
Studies suggest that a lot of people who suffer from acne have a lactose intolerance and after multiple tests of people with acne stopped having large amounts of dairy there acne cleared up massively.
Sugar:
Sugar is one of the main causes of acne this is because sugar has an effect on your body that causes your body to produce more testosterone therefore producing more dead skin cells and increasing sebum production and over working your pores and follicles.
DHT [Dihydrotestosterone-alpha]
A natural steroid produced in the gonads in men and females that is responsible for muscle mass, body hair and your voice, DHT is 5 times stronger than testosterone and can cause the oil glands in our skin to produce more sebum and clog our pores [this is more popular in females].
Periods:
Menstrual acne is a common acne found in females around the time of their period generally 10 days before the acne will get severe and once the bleeding begins the acne will reduce, Around 63% of women suffer from menstrual acne.
Pregnancy:
During pregnancy women experience an increase in hormones now this increase will cause the oil glands to produce more sebum like DHT and therefore clogging the pores, Around 50% of pregnant women experience acne around their 6th week.
PCOS [Polycystic Ovary syndrome]
This is a condition caused by the imbalance of hormones by the pituitary gland, this condition effects the ovaries and makes them produce more testosterone and potentially causing weight gain, acne, increase of hair growth.
Diet:
There are multiple studies that say that our diet has no effect on our acne however it has been shown that people with high-glycemic diets have acne or experienced acne this is because high-glycemic foods cause a spike in our blood sugar levels that can cause obesity, diabetes and other conditions. The reason high-glycemic foods cause acne is because once consumed our body produces more ICF-1 [insulin-like growth factor] this forces our body to produce more testosterone that then produces more sebum and can lead to clogged pores [Acne].
Genetics:
Many studies show that you cannot get acne through genetics however your genes do effect your sebum and how much you produce, your genes also effect how well you can fight of bacteria and also how easy your pores can be clogged by dead skin cells.
How might your lifestyle effect acne?
Sun exposure:
There are multiple opinions on sun exposure and acne, 10-20 minutes a day is a safe amount of direct sun exposure and may help with acne however the sun is providing vitamin D and you could increase your intake or take a supplement this is potentially better as some people can be burned and irritate through direct sun exposure.
Stress:
It has been found that when someone is stressed they have an increase in breakouts this is potentially because our skin cells have receptors for stress hormones, This was found through multiple studies of kids that when they were doing exams there acne got worse but during summer it got better.
Treatments and Medications:
> Coming Soon
After acne care:
> Coming Soon
Picking your blemishes:
A common thing that people with acne do is they pick there blemishes this is because of stress of either how they look with the acne or it could be stress from other things, When you pick your blemish you are potentially pushing the sebum and bacteria further into your skin or potentially scarring yourself in the future.
Please do not pick your blemishes!!!
However if you cant help yourself please watch the tutorial below!
We would rather you do it safely and knowledgeable than stupidly.
All the information provided above is through extensive research, if we haven't included something that you believe we should or if you need to get in touch pls contact us through.
Helpcbmcosmeticsltd@gmail.com