So…What is Acne, Anyway?

When we break out or get a pimple we say we have a case of acne. Acne is a skin condition that is quite common for people of all ages. What is interesting is there are different degrees of severity with acne from very mild to very severe. The good news is acne is both treatable and controllable.

It is not really known why acne is caused but they do know there are several factors that does create acne. What is known about acne is it does occur when the sebaceous glands (oil glands) under our skin surface produces an excess of oil that blocks our pores. The oil called sebum clogs the pore and prevents the excess from leaving the pore. It also clogs dead cells in the pore as well. On top of this the skin has bacteria. The bacteria known as P. acnes aggravates the built up oil and dead cells in the clogged pore. Once the bacteria sets in the pore starts to swell and a bump begins to form. The bump which pops up to the skins outer surface is the bumps we see. The bump we see now forms and it is called a papule. If pus forms inside the papule we call it a pustule and a pustule is a full blown pimple.

If the inflammation of the pore goes deeper into the skin surface the bump becomes a cyst. If the oil breaks into the skin surface we get what we know as whiteheads. If and when the oil oxidizes and collects skin pigment known as melanin and the oil and dead cells harden in the pore we get a blackhead.

There are a few contributing factors that cause acne but no one knows why they actually occur. First off we see it happen in teenagers quite commonly. It is agreed upon that with teenagers and those with hormonal imbalances that the hormones are a contributing factor to the cause of acne. The increase of male hormones at puberty for boys and female hormonal imbalances create an effect on the oil producing glands in our bodies. Heredity disposition also may contribute to acne. Like father, like son plays a role in outbreaks. Eating does not directly cause acne but, of course what you eat does affect your overall health and that includes skin. During times of stress the skins pH level changes. When the pH changes it affects the P.acnes bacteria levels in the skin by upsetting the pH balance in our skins. The more bacteria levels in the skin the more prone to breakouts we are.

In conclusion, we do know that pimples don’t just pop up over night. Blemishes come first. Those can look like reddish irritated spots on the face which later become pimples. It takes blemishes two to three weeks to become acne. So keeping your skin clean and the pores opened so oil doesn’t build up is the first line of defense against acne. In conjunction with that one should make sure their skin balance is at the proper pH to keep the bacteria in check. If you do these things and eat right, you should be able to keep acne in control. If these are not enough to keep your skin from acne eruptions then you might want to consider a dermatologist to help you with your acne.

Diet is one way you can take care of your skin. We have a 5-part Healthy Skin Diet series on our new site.