We have all dealt with acne at some point of our teenage years and maybe still continuing to struggle with it during our adulthood. Have you ever considered what causes acne? A common misperception but acne is not caused by simply having dirt build up on our skin. It is however caused by overactive oil glands on our skin, more specifically our pores which become inflamed thus causing acne breakouts to occur.
Our old glands become the most active during puberty which can be due to a genetic history of acne which may lead you to breakout excessively.
Acne commonly occurs on the face and for some cases it can occur on the back and chest. Before you consider various cleansers and exfoliates, getting to the root cause of what acne is occurring will help to determine how to prevent it.
One cause can be due to hyperactivity of sebaceous glands which secretes sebum on the skin to prevent your skin from over-drying. Hyperactivity
of the glands can cause blockage of the follicles in the skin causing acne to form on the surface. Another cause can be due to abnormal shedding of dead skin cells. Since our skin regularly sheds dead cells to form new cells, the absence of regular shedding can lead to obstruction of the follicles which in turn leads to acne. Bacterial invasion is another cause of acne which leads to clogged pores with bacteria, dead skin and excess sebum.
To prevent acne a few tips to keep in mind:
- Avoid over washing your face more than 3 times a day. Washing
your face does help to get rid of any dead skin and bacteria however if you
wash your face beyond that amount than you can cause skin irritation and
dryness, leading to further breakouts. - Remove all traces of makeup before you hit the bed. Removing
your makeup will help your skin to sleep at ease. Furthermore, stick to mineral
powder makeup to let your skin breathe instead of using oil based foundations. - Change out your pillow case frequently. If you sleep on the
same pillowcase every night for 2 weeks, have you thought about all the oil
that is rubbed off on it? All the bacteria on your pillow case can lead to acne
with dirt being embedded on your skin for hours. - The best way to cleanse your skin is using an acne face wash.
There is a huge variety of face washes out there, remember there is no overnight
treatment to help you get rid of acne. Using a mild formula is ideal for those
with irritated skin. Look for concentration of 2% of salicylic acid or 10% benzol
peroxide. - To treat acne it?s important to find a treatment without any
harsh chemical ingredients and substances which can lead to further skin
damage. This should give you a brief understanding of acne, for severe cases it
is advised to visit your doctor for consultation.
