Successful Acne Treatment is almost a myth. Acne is a disease or disorder resulting from the interaction of hormones on the skin's oil glands, which leads to plugged pores and outbreaks of lesions commonly called pimples or zits. Acne can occur just about anywhere you have skin. The bumps can be large or small, different colors (red, black, white), tender or dull, hardened or soft. Acne is a common skin disorder characterized by a red-rash skin appearance. The most common form is known as acne vulgaris.
What causes acne?
Acne is a disorder resulting from the action of hormones on the skin's oil glands (sebaceous glands), which leads to plugged pores and outbreaks of lesions commonly called pimples or zits. Will successful acne treatment reverse the action of the hormones?
There are many common myths about acne, and people get unfairly blamed or judged about the condition. Acne has nothing to do with cleanliness, personal hygiene or diet. Oil production in the skin is triggered by hormones, not by eating greasy foods or chocolate. Oil is produced by the sebaceous glands that are in the pores that grow hairs (follicles). Usually the oil flows out the open end of the pore. However, the same substance in the skin surface that causes corns (keratin) and dead skin cells can create a plug that blocks the pore. If this plug stays inside the pore under the outer layer of skin, the build of oil behind the plug will cause a bump in the skin (a whitehead). However, if the plug breaks through the surface of the skin, exposure to air and the buildup of the pigment that colours the skin (melanin) will blacken it (a blackhead). It is this plug that is released when a pimple is squeezed. The blackness is not dirt, just discolouration. Whiteheads and blackheads on their own is called non-inflammatory acne.
Once oil is trapped in the pore, the pore will swell as more oil is produced. The skin is home to a number of different bacteria (germs) that do not normally cause any harm. However, one of these groups of bacteria (the Propionibacteria) likes growing in oily conditions. Once the oil collects, the bacteria take the opportunity to increase in numbers. The body's immune system will react to the increase in these bacteria, and this can cause redness and swelling (inflammation) as well as the development of pus, inside the pore and in the area around it. This kind of acne is called inflammatory acne. While squeezing a blackhead can get the contents of the blocked pore to come out, squeezing a red pimple that has no pus in the centre just pushes the inflammation even deeper into the skin causing an even bigger spot, the possibility of infection and the danger of scarring
Who gets Acne?
Nearly everyone has a bout of acne at some point in their lives. Acne is more common in males during childhood and adolescence. Conversely, acne is more common in women during adulthood. Nearly 85 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 24 develop the disorder. For most people, acne tends to go away by the time they reach their thirties; however, some people in their forties and fifties continue to have this skin problem.Most young people will have some degree of acne, although it can also happen at other ages 12.
Acne can involve a variety of types of spots, blemishes and sores in the skin (called lesions):
Blackheads - visible, blocked pores (called open comedones)
Whiteheads - little closed bumps in the skin due to blocked pores that have not opened onto the skin surface (closed comedones)
Zits - pus-filled spots (pustules)
Red pimples or lumps under the skin (papules), containing inflamed tissue
Hard lumps under the skin that can be very painful, go deep into the skin and often cause scars (nodules)
Open sores or pimples with the tops scratched off
Marking (macules) and scarring
Often, acne involves all of these, with different pores at different stages in these cycles.
