All About Acne
Acne. Most people had it during their high school years but recently acne has become more common as genes get passed down and more sugar is but into just about anything, as well as the stress put on working adults and teenagers. It’s not necessarily bad, but often times it can be unpleasant, and for teenagers especially, awkward. Most people just leave it be and others quickly try to fix it, but sometimes they make matters worse and leave permanent damage. In this post I want to go over what acne is, where it comes from and what we can do to treat it, as well as scarring that can come from acne but can easily be avoided.
What even is Acne?
Acne can be easily described as a skin condition where the hair follicles and pores get clogged up with dirt, excess oil, and dead skin cells. It can lead to inflammation, irritation and and can really be found anywhere on the upper body, although pimples are usually found on the face, since that is where there is the most sebum oil buildup. Unfortunately we can’t just take a spoon of medicine and make it will all go away but we can at least know what causes acne and how we can reduce it/ make it very rare to appear.
How did it randomly appear?
Acne doesn’t just come randomly as our birthday gift in the seventh grade, there an entire spectrum on how acne can appear. Of course the most simple answer is genetics; if one of your parents had bad breakouts of acne, chances are you will too when your body starts to produce more hormones. Boys tend to go through puberty longer, meaning their acne might last longer than a teenage girls. During puberty the body makes hormones called androgens. They make the oil/sebum glands on our skin, producing a larger than needed amount of sebum that pours into our pores. To get rid of this excess oil we can use salicylic acid that cleanses the pores without drying out the face. Of course bacteria plays a major role as well since most bacteria leaves behind fatty acids that plugs pores and prompts irritation and inflammation of the area around the follicle.
This can be easily solved by washing your face daily with soap/cleanser and water and using a toner after to control the oil levels. Most importantly, stress has a huge effect on our breakouts and red surprises. Stress boosts our sebum production as well as testosterone levels which can affect all other hormones and cortisol levels. Getting enough sleep and water is vital to keeping the moisture in the skin and reducing the stress put on our bodies.
Acne Scarring
Acne scarring is a nasty side effect of picking at and not treating acne on the face. Acne scars are normally the result of inflammation in pores overfilled with dead skin cells and bacteria.The pore swells up and creates lesions that are usually small and heal quickly. If the follicle wall badly breaks the infected oil spreads into other pores and over the surrounding tissue; creating deeper lesions. The skin tries to grow back the skin but it is normally not as thick of strong, leaving permanent dark colored indentations.
Although I say permanent most acne cars can go away by themselves over a period of time without being touched. Acne scars not on the face are called “keloid scars and are usually larger in size and can remain there for up to 6 years. But fear not! Facial peels and exfoliation can speed up the healing process naturally by removing dead skin cells off of the surface of the face. To prevent acne scarring, never pop a pimple that is not ready and never do it with your dirty hands! Let's take care of our skin properly.
- Alice Kazakov
