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Causes of Acne

Causes of Acne

Acne. Many consider it the bane of the Teenage years, but Acne can happen at any time in your life. Whether you are preparing for High School, or your golden years, a number of factors can contribute to Acne breakouts. What is the Cause of Acne?

However, don’t give up hope. You don’t have to live with the constant threat of Zits and Pimples in your life.

Causes

There are numerous causes for Acne. With some vigilance, you can cause most of them to be non-issues.

The most common causes of Acne is blocked pores. Your pores can become blocked for many reasons, such as heavy make-up, swelling due to skin irritation, dirty skin, cleaning too much. (Yes, I know. Shocking), and hormonal changes.

Your skin has a tendency to get Acne during major hormonal changes during your life, such as puberty and Menopause. As your body’s hormones change, it causes your glands, including the Sebaceous Gland, to change the volume of their output. As your Sebaceous Glands create more Sebum, an oily substance that is meant to keep your skin lubricated and waterproof, it creates the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

When your skin becomes inflamed, bacteria and Sebum, along with anything else in the vicinity, become trapped in your pores. More irritating substances on your skin’s surface, such as make-up and dirt, cause it to more likely become inflamed.

As it sits trapped in a pore, the Sebum hardens and creates a seal. With nowhere to go, the bacteria that are trapped will just sits in your pore and reproduces. Eventually, your body notices the bacteria and begins to fight it, creating pus as a byproduct of their victory. This causes the pore to swell into a Zit.

“What about cleaning too much”, you ask? “That seems like it should not cause Acne.” Believe it or not, it does, and it actually causes the worst kind. If you scrub your skin too briskly, you scrub off the outer layer of skin, which normally serves to keep your body waterproof. This causes the Sebaceous Glands to begin to create more and more Sebum. This is done to protect your skin from dehydration by coating the raw skin with oily Sebum. It can even turn perfect, flawless skin into permanently oily skin if the glands become accustomed to outputting a large amount of Sebum on a consistent basis. In addition, because of the over-scrubbing, you are at a naturally deeper layer of skin. When the sebum trapped in your pores harden, it remains trapped at a much deeper layer than normal, even after the skin regrows.

Breakouts do not happen instantly. When your skin recovers and grows back out to its natural thickness, the clog is left behind at a deeper layer of your skin. This causes swelling due to the Acne forming at a deeper level as well. Even after you clean out the ensuing blackheads, the pores don’t close as completely because they are at a deeper, more malleable level. This creates hollow pockets in your skin. Then, when your pores naturally make Sebum to protect your skin, these pockets will be refilled, creating more Acne in the process.

Solution

You need to take proper care of your skin, creating an environment that is not conductive to Acne.

First and foremost, you should keep your skin properly exfoliated. If you don’t exfoliate, the dry and flaky outermost layer of skin can clog pores.  This creates a breeding ground for Acne-causing bacteria. However, if you scrub too much, you strip away all of the outer layer of dead skin. This exposes the raw, inner layer of skin to the harsh elements. This, in turn, causes your Sebaceous Glands to go into overdrive to protect the skin from dehydration and creates an overproduction of Sebum, one of the primary Cause of Acne. Therefore, you should exfoliate properly for your skin type. Use exfoliating scrubs with the proper coarseness for your skin type at a reasonable interval.

In addition, when picking out anything that will go on your skin, check to see if it is “noncomedogenic”. Your pores can clog easily, so it is important to be careful. Noncomedogenic products are specially formulated to not clog pores. You can rest assured that your skin won’t break out the following morning if you use one.

Finally, you should consider incorporating soaps made of Glycerin, instead of the standard bar soaps, and acne products containing Benzoyl Peroxide into your skin care routine. Unlike normal soaps, which leave behind a filmy residue, Glycerin soaps completely wash off and don’t clog pores. In addition, Benzoyl Peroxide fights Acne-causing germs, preventing Acne from forming in the first plac.