Skin Acne
Close to 100% of people between 12 and 17 have at least an occasional whitehead, blackhead or pimple, regardless of race or ethnicity.
Most of people are able to manage their skin acne with over the counter (nonprescription) acne treatments.
However for some skin acne is more serious.
More than 40% of adolescents have skin acne severe enough to require some treatment by a physician.
Skin Acne normally goes away on its own sometime in the early twenties.
However in some caes acne can persist into the late twenties or thirties or even beyond.
Some people get skin acne for the first time as adults.
Skin Acne affects young men and young women about equally but there are differences.
Young men are more likely than young women to have more severe, longer lasting forms of acne.
Young women are more likely to have intermittent acne due to hormonal changes associated with their menstrual cycle and acne caused by cosmetics.
Skin Acne lesions are most common on the face but they can also occur on the neck, chest, back, shoulders, scalp, and upper arms and legs.
Myth 1 : Acne is caused by poor hygiene.
If you believe this myth, and wash your skin hard and frequently, you can actually make your acne worse.
Acne is not caused by dirt or surface skin oils.
The best approach to hygiene and acne
: Gently wash your face twice a day with a mild soap, pat dry--and use an appropriate acne treatment for the acne.
Myth 2 : Acne is caused by diet.
Extensive scientific studies have not found a connection between diet and acne.
In other words, food does not cause acne. Not chocolate. Not french fries. Not pizza.
However eating a balanced diet always makes sense.
ACNE Myth 3 : Acne is caused by stress.
Scarring and how to avoid it :
Causes of Acne Scars :
Two types of true scars exist, (1) depressed areas such as ice-pick scars, and (2) raised thickened tissue such as keloids.
When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site.
Among the elements of the repair kit are white blood cells and an array of inflammatory molecules that have the task of repairing tissue and fighting infection.
However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or eroded tissue.
White blood cells and inflammatory molecules may remain at the site of an active acne lesion for days or even weeks.
In people who are susceptible to scarring, the result may be an acne scar.
The occurrence and incidence of scarring is still not well understood.
There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, indicating that some people are more prone to scarring than others.
Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory nodulocystic acne that occurs deep in the skin.
But, scarring also may arise from more superficial inflamed lesions.
Acne is a disease of the sebaceous hair follicle.
Each follicle contains a tiny hair and multilobed sebaceous glands.
Sebaceous glands get their name from the oily substance they produce - sebum.
Under normal circumstances, sebum travels up the hair follicle and out to the skin's surface.
However, in acne, sebum is trapped within the follicle.
Acne develops on those areas of the skin where sebaceous glands are most numerous : the face, scalp, neck, chest, back, and upper arms and shoulders.
The acne lesions we know as blackheads are called "comedones".
Four basic factors, work together for the development of comedones :
Hormones (androgens), Increased sebum production, Changes inside the follicle, Bacteria.
The genetic connection :
While virtually everyone gets acne to some degree, some people are born with a predisposition to certain types of acne.
There seem to be similarities in acne among family members regarding patterns of acne lesions, duration of acne, severity and so on.
Acne from cosmetics ;
Comedones may be caused by certain cosmetics and toiletries containing ingredients that can clog pores.
Such products, which include makeup, foundations, night creams and moisturizers, are called comedogenic.
People should look for "noncomedogenic" cosmetics and toiletries.
Acne myths and misconceptions :
In the simplest terms, scars form at the site of an injury to tissue.
They are the visible reminders of injury and tissue repair.
In the case of acne, the injury is caused by the body’s inflammatory response to sebum, bacteria and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle.
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