Causes of Acne


Almost 70% of American’s suffer from acne at some point in their life time. The world wide percentage is around about 80-90%. It is such a common skin disease that everyone should know about the causes and treatments of acne even if they are not suffering from acne. If you know the causes of acne, you can actually prevent acne before it gets persistent. One of the main causes of acne is the hormonal imbalance in human body that mostly happens in teenage as a result of hormonal changes in the body. During this period, the sebaceous glands in the body that is responsible for producing sebum, a moisturizer for body, starts producing more sebum than normal. The sebum keeps collecting in the pores on the surface of the skin and ultimately forms cysts and pimples.

Genetic history is also one of the main factors that lead to acne in many patients. Acne is considered to be a heredity disease but it can also affect those who don’t have a family history for acne. The chances and severity of acne is more intense in those teenagers where acne is common in the family.

The usual cause of acne in those who don’t inherit it from parents is a bacterium called propioni bacterium more commonly known as P. acne. The increased secretion of sebum through pores leads to conditions that are quite friendly for this bacterium. The pore is blocked due to excessive sebum production and P. acne bacterium starts reproducing at a higher rate. As a Result, it forms acne lesion on the skin and secrets chemicals that destroy the skin.

In males, the more common cause of acne is a male sex hormone called androgen. It leads the follicular glands on the skin to secret more sebum and causes acne. On the other hand, in females, the fluctuation in hormonal imbalance is more common than men. Other than hormonal imbalance, irregular periods, weight problems and excessive hair on skin also stimulate acne in women. Acne during pregnancy is also quite common in females.

Diet is also considered to be a main factor in stimulating and worsen acne. Recent studies have established that high consumption of milk, cheese and sherbet can stimulate acne in human body. The main reason for this link between acne and milk, cheese and sherbet is not known yet but the researchers have hypothesized that it could be due to the increased secretion of several sex hormones as a result of in taking these diets heavily on a regular basis. Oily and spicy foods are also considered to worsen acne. As a result, dermatologists give advice to refrain from junk food if you are suffering from acne. On the other hand, certain diets can actually help in preventing acne. Citrus fruits and green vegetables are one of those diets that can help the acne patients in combating acne.

These are some of the main causes of acne. Although there are a number of factors that can lead to or worsen acne, there are some factors that have no connection with acne in contrast to the common beliefs. For example, there is an old myth that chocolate can cause acne. This common belief is not supported by any scientific research as of yet. As a matter of fact, some researchers have indicated that there is no link between acne and chocolate intake. Similarly, there is another misconception about acne that it is caused by poor hygiene condition. Scientific research has concluded that acne is not caused by dirt. The misconception had originated from the fact that blackheads look like dirt particles.

A general knowledge of these causes of acne, on the one hand, can help people in preventing acne while, on the other hand, it can also help the acne sufferers in treating their acne more effectively.