If you struggle with acne, you have probably heard it all. ¬It’s the greasy food you eat. You wouldn’t have acne if you washed your face. Put some toothpaste on the zits to dry them up. You wear too much makeup, and that’s why you have acne. Are these things true? What really causes acne?
At the end of each hair on your skin you have something called a pilosebaceous unit, which includes the base of the hair, hair follicle, and sebaceous gland. This is where acne begins. The job of the sebaceous gland is to produce sebum, an oil that keeps your body moisturized. This is a much needed substance, but too much of it can cause problems.
Another player in the acne world is a bacterium that lives in the skin. It grows using sebum, so hair follicles that are full of sebum will also be full of the bacteria. The bacteria are viewed as a danger to the body, so they attract white blood cells. Also, the bacteria cause free fatty acids to build up in the gland, and these irritate the body. This combination of the fatty acids and the white blood cells leads to the irritation that creates an acne pustule.
In order to understand this better, let’s think about how a follicle works when it is working properly. It will produce sebum, and the sebum will filter out of the gland with the dead skin cells that are being disposed of. This sebum moisturizes the skin, giving it a healthy glow.
When someone has acne, the sebum becomes trapped inside the hair follicle. This happens because the follicle is obstructed by dead skin cells that do not shed properly, but medical science has not yet revealed what causes this to happen. Since the sebum cannot escape the gland, it, along with the cells that are normally disposed of, becomes trapped. This causes the build up of bacteria, white blood cells, and fatty acids that causes acne.
Acne is most prevalent among adolescents because they have overactive sebaceous glands. The hormones in the body during puberty cause more sebum to be produced, which often leads to acne. It has nothing to do with hygiene, so you can forget about all of those “old wives’ tales” you heard about makeup, cleanliness, and oily food. If you suffer from acne, talk to your doctor about the best treatment option. Most cases can be treated with over-the-counter creams, but some require medication. Your doctor is the first step in getting on the path towards healthy, happy skin.
