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Understanding the Causes of AcneGood news and bad news on the acne frontier! The causes of acne are getting clearer to researchers. The bad news is unfortunately for most of those who suffer from acne, not clear enough. In general the causes are hormone disturbances - the big "H" all teens hate. In addition, acne can be caused by bacterial and inflammatory upsets at oil pore level. By the way, the oil pore's fancy name is "pilosebaceous follicle." Recent research from Australia seems to indicate high carbohydrate foods may also cause an acne flare up. Acne Development in the Oil PoresAs the acne progresses, more oil is manufactured in the oil pore's glands. It doesn't matter how much oil there is, what seems to be important is the type of oil and its particular makeup. Next, the hair follicle gets stickier with build up and blocks the pores. That creates whiteheads and/or blackheads.With the extra oil in the pores, the acne bacteria, whose complicated name is "Propionobacterium Acnes", figures it's a good time to reproduce. All causes of acne get nutrition from the sebum (Latin for fat) and discharge chemicals in the pores. The chemicals send out a come hither gesture and lure white cells from the blood causing inflammation. What you see on your face then is pimples, zits, or boo boo's. Once you have an inflamed pore (meaning the glands are enlarged) the skin all around it also gets irritated. End result? Larger lumps and bumps with the clinical name nodules. You might be wondering where the scarring process from acne comes in here. The long and short of it when discussing the causes of acne, is that once the cells are inflamed, cells that make collagen may also be affected. Less collagen means thinning skin and a depression like scar. More collagen means thickened scars.  Hormonal FactorsWhat aggravates the acne bacteria? Simply put, the combination of male hormones (testosterone and dihydrotestosterone), the acne bacteria and the inflammation. If you do anything further to your face that affects oil production, then those factors will also aggravate your acne. For instance, blocking your pores with cosmetics, greases, oils and even hairspray. Other acne causes include wearing hats, helmets or sports bands that wrap around the top of your forehead, causing over exposure to sweat and humidity. And yes, some medications can make your acne miserable -- anabolic steroids, birth control pills (the progestin), lithium and some anti-seizure agents. Other common acne aggravators are overdoing it in the skin-cleansing department, squeezing, popping or picking your pimples. We hope that these explanations of the causes of acne are helpful for you! If you are experiencing problems with treating your acne, check out the Pimple Eraser Plus products (glycolic based skin treatments). Click here, for more information about the Pimple Eraser skin care system, for treating acne.
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