Causes Of Acne
Acne is a very common problem amongst teenagers, but not many people realise that it can affect people of any age. That means that although most people will have got rid of their acne naturally by the time they reach twenty, adults can have outbreaks too and this isnt unusual.
As you're probably aware there are loads of myths about acne in everyday culture. These usually come from old wives tales and shouldn't be taken seriously. For example people used to believe for many years that chocolate causes acne, but this has now been shown to not be the case, as you'll no doubt be pleased to know!
You should always talk to you doctor before believing anything you hear about acne through other people, as the chances are they arent correct. Dont worry about eating chocolate, but other foods have been shown in some cases to make acne worse, so eating a healthy diet is definitely a good idea anyway.
Now onto what actually causes acne. The problem arises when a hair follicle in your skin becomes trapped. This means that the sebum in your skin begins to build up beneath the skin, and means that bacteria builds up which then causes spots. This is the process that causes whiteheads and blackheads.
First of all we have a blackhead. This is when the sebum actually breaks the skin and then becomes oxidised by the surrounding air causing it to form a blackhead.These usually take longer to go away than whiteheads, and hence are more annoying.
Whiteheads and blackheads are not the only problem caused by acne. For example if you get inflammation where the follicle wall is broken then you can get a papule which is more red. In most severe cases you can get cysts which are areas of inflammation that are filled with pus.
If you are worried about your acne, and want to know how to get rid of it, then your doctor will usually be able to provide the best advice or at least refer you to someone who will be able to help.