Causes of Acne

Health Articles > Acne > Acne Causes

Whether you are a teen or in your twenties, acne can be a recurring problem for you and your skin.  It is so common that it is a considered to be a normal part of puberty and even in adulthood, 1 in 5 adults can develop acne.  Acne is common,  but that doesn’t make it any easier to live with.  So what causes this annoying skin condition?

The pores in the skin contain sebaceous glands which, as the name suggests, make sebum.  Sebum is the natural oil that lubricates your hair and skin and most of the time, just the right amount is made.  However, if your hormones stimulate the glands to make extra sebum, the glands can become over active and you are on the road to pores becoming clogged up with both too much sebum and too many dead cells.  It is when bacteria gets trapped in these clogged pores and then multiplies, then swelling and redness can result... and before too long you have white heads, blackheads and / or pimples which are all just different variations of what happens at the top of those clogged pores.

So the four steps leading to acne are over active sebacious glands, blocking of the skin pores, activity of normal skin bacteria and then inflammation in that order.

So what can cause the glands to make that extra sebum?

In adult acne the causes are often stress, bad cosmetics, hormones and birth control pills:

• Stress can cause those oil glands to overcompensate.
• Bad cosmetics can lead to bacteria-laden pores (that is cosmetics that have been around too long and become contaminated with air borne bacteria, and bacteria picked up off the skin).
• Hormones can also cause those oil glands to overcompensate.
• Birth control pills containing androgen can cause acne breakouts.

In teen acne the causes can be:

• The oil glands are stimulated to produce oil by hormones, specifically the male hormones   called androgens,
• Women also have these hormones but much less of them.
• These hormones are produced by the testes in men and by the ovaries in women.
• In both sexes, androgens are also produced by the adrenal glands.
• During times of stress, the adrenal glands produce increased levels of these hormones,      causing even greater enlargement of the oil glands.
• During puberty, the oil glands become over active in response to hormonal changes.

Other contributing factors are:

• Drugs as some medications can actually cause or worsen acne.  Examples are those drugs containing iodides, bromides or oral or injected steroids. Other drugs that can cause or aggravate acne are anticonvulsant medications as well as lithium which is used to treat bipolar disorder.
• Occupations as in some jobs, workers are exposed to industrial products like cutting oils or petroleum or cooking oils.  This could produce acne.
• Cosmetics as some of these together with skin-care products can clog the pores.  When using such cosmetics and products, check the ingredients carefully and look for ones that are water based as they are usually safer to use to avoid acne or when suffering from acne.

Remember that acne usually begins first with blackheads.  Red pimples only develop when those blackheads become inflamed and they spread when you keep touching them (perhaps with dirty hands).  Once a pimple then becomes infected, it can develop a white head or pustule.  These can break and these are the ones that can lead to scarring.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/acne/article_em.htm