What Causes Acne?

Acne is a troublesome thing. Especially in the younger population where looks and image tend to matter more. Knowing more about what causes acne may help you understand how to get rid of it better.
What You Need To Know

Acne is a bit of an all inclusive term for a number of different issues. Most people think of pimples when they think of acne, but there's a lot more to it than that. Acne can not only affect the face, but the rest of the body as well. Acne falls into different categories. Three, to be exact.

There is non-inflammatory acne. This includes blackheads and white heads. These are small black and white dots that develop usually on your face and tend to cause no serious problems.

Next we have inflammatory acne. This category consists of pustules (pimples), papules, cysts and nodules. Pustules are full pimples with exposed white heads. Papules are pimples that haven't broken out yet. Cysts and nodules can get very large and can be hard to be rid of.

The final category is one condition that stands on its own: Milia. These are little white dots that can develop all over the face, usually in multitudes.

What is Acne?

Your body produces something called sebum from your sebaceous gland. Sebum consists of oil and skin cells. These glands sometimes go into overproduction, and cause a buildup of sebum on your skin. This then causes blockage, which allows bacteria to move in and create the condition known as acne.

How Do You Get Acne?

When you are in puberty, your high levels of hormones can also increase the levels of sebum that are being produced in your body. The hormone that affects sebum production the most is androgen. This is a hormone that is produced more in men than in women.

For women, menstrual cycles can cause an increase in these hormones being produced. In addition, birth control pills have been known to both cause acne and clear up acne.

Acne has a tendency to run in families. It can be a hereditary trait. There is also a racial link to acne in Caucasians. They tend to get it more than other races.

Anything that irritates your skin can cause acne to occur. Such as a dog's lick from its tongue, friction of clothing, extreme temperatures, certain sports equipment, certain makeup or taking corticosteroid medications.

The Myth

Eating excessive amounts of junk food does not cause acne. You can eat all the junk food or pop that you like, it will not increase the chances of you getting acne or worsen your condition already. But it's still not a good idea to overdo it on the junkfood for a number of other health concerns that can develop because of it.

Greasy hair or skin does not cause acne, but it could be a symptom that your sebum glands are overproducing.
Sorting Through It All

That's what acne is! Be sure you know all the facts so you can make an accurate and informed decision with acne. If you know how something is produced, you'll know better how to be rid of it. Knowledge is power.