Get Rid Of Pimples

PEOPLE can be so insensitive about acne – younger ones especially can be cruel – but this embarrassing, sometimes mortifying, skin condition affects billions of people world wide. And yet, acne causes are not that well understood, making this a most difficult disease to manage.

Experts know how pimples form, but, according to the National Institutes of Health, the process and why one follicle is affected and not another, is not entirely known.

There are numerous factors that can contribute to the formation of acne, which can manifest itself in many different ways.

Acne Causes

Hormones – During puberty, a rise in the levels of male sex hormones called androgens affects the skin’s sebaceous glands of both boys and girls. The glands enlarge and begin to produce more sebum, the natural oil that moisturizes the skin. This extra production goes haywire in some people, resulting in acne. These androgens can continue to be an issue past the teenage years and and well into adulthood. They are responsible for the common pimple flare ups women often experience in the days before their period begins.

Excess sebum – As noted above, hormones can cause a spike in sebum production. Sebum is meant to mix with dead skin cells that are a natural part of the skin renewing itself. But in the person prone to acne, this excess oil increases the chances that a hair follicle, also called pores, will become clogged. And instead of this mixture draining harmlessly and naturally to the surface of the skin, it forms a sticky plug that creates a breeding ground for bacteria trapped inside the pore to grow, which the body attacks with its army of white blood cells. The result is a pimple of some form or other.

Uneven exfoliation – The skin, like the rest of our bodies, is constantly renewing itself. New skin cells form pushing out old ones that die and get sloughed off, or shed, gradually and evenly. The acne prone person may be shedding unevenly, which can cause the cells inside the pores to clump up and form a plug. Or the acne sufferer sheds cells more rapidly than is normal, faster than the skin’s natural renewal process can keep up with, and a clog is formed.

Grease – Oil from cosmetics, other skin products, or in the person’s environment, such as in a restaurant kitchen where food is fried, can, it is believed, make skin cells sticky and more apt to form a pimple-producing plug. Sweat may also factor into it when combined with the wearing of hats, or sports helmets, that also put pressure on the skin. Or if sweating clothes remain in contact with the skin for a prolonged time. (Backne, anyone?)

Bacteria – Acne is caused by a bacterium known as propionobacterium acnes, or P. acnes, which resides naturally in skin. It becomes a problem when the pore becomes clogged for whatever reason, multiplying like mad inside the tiny confines of a collapsed follicle.

Inflammation - A plugged up pore becomes inflamed and that inflammation is what we visibly see as a pimple. But inflammation also occurs when the skin is aggravated by over-cleansing, hard scrubbing, popping pimples, picking at blemishes, and the like.

Medication – Some medications, such as lithium, some anti-seizure drugs, and steroids, pump up oil production in the skin and cause acne.

So now that we understand acne causes better, we can look at the types of acne and work on acne treatment that is specific to you.

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