Four Acne Causes to Be Aware of

Pimples, pizza face, zits … there are many names for the face of acne and while there are many treatment options for it, you should be aware of the primary acne causes. If you have an idea of how acne is created then you have a better chance of alleviating most of the burden of it or at least greatly reduce the symptoms.

The Sebaceous Glands

Your sebaceous glands aka oil glands can be counted as one of the acne causes as they greatly contribute to breakouts. Deep within the skin are these oil glands which are connected to a hair follicle and the oil produced travels up the follicle to lubricate the surrounding skin as well as the hair.

This hair follicle that the oil travels up through ends up into a skin pore so if your oil glands decide to go into overdrive, chances are the skin pore will become clogged. Stress and hormonal changes such as puberty or menstruation can increase the oil production and thereby contributes to the acne causes.

Skin Pore Obstructions

When the skin pores become blocked, whether by dirt, make-up or oil, these obstructions count toward the four primary acne causes. Basically, when dead skin cells are shed, they don't always fall off but rather accumulate in the oil-clogging pores, creating whiteheads or blackheads. When the dead skin accumulates with the oil and other factors, bacteria can enter the mix and create even bigger problems such as pustules or cysts filled with pus.

Bacteria

 Bacteria are third in the line of acne causes and they are what make a simple clogged pore into something more serious. There are normal bacteria on your skin which serve to protect you from more harmful versions but when these "normal" bacteria get trapped in a clogged pore with the oil and dead skin, they fester causing possible swelling, redness and irritation.

Swelling and Redness

Inflammation can be counted among the acne causes and this occurs when your skin and body is working hard to rid itself of an invader (bacteria-causing acne). Pain, redness, warmth and swelling are the result and can translate into occasional breakouts to a full-fledged acne invasion, depending on the severity of the pore blockage.

If you can introduce a good skin care regiment, perhaps you can avoid the pitfalls of acne that so many people experience. Understanding acne causes can help greatly toward achieving your goal of blemish-free skin.