Take your pick: Hormones? Stress? Bad luck? Also, you may notice that acne is a much bigger problem for some than for others. Some individuals may be genetically “preprogrammed” to get severe acne, while others go through puberty with only 3 or 4 pimples. Chances are: if you are suffering with acne, at least one of your parents did, too.
Acne usually appears on your face, back, shoulders and chest. Pimples form when your pores get clogged (your skin has thousands of individual pores - each pore consists of a hair follicle and a sebaceous - or oil producing - gland). Clogging can be a result of:
- Dead skin cells building up
- Bacteria accumulation
- Overproduction of oil by the sebaceous gland (the result of hormonal changes)
- Oily, pore-clogging products - make up, moisturizers, etc.
- The combination of all the above
Clogging occurs when the sebum, or oil, produced by the sebaceous gland cannot leave the pore as it normally would (to moisturize the skin and hair). An obstruction forms in the pore. The skin around the pore may swell and a white plug (made of dead cells and oil) may form - this is a whitehead. If the plug doesn’t fully close the pore, you can get a blackhead.
Pimples can become little infections when whiteheads rupture under the skin. This rupture allows bacteria, dead cells and oil to seep into the surrounding tissue. If the outbreak is large and deep enough, you may develop a boil-like infection called cystic acne - these are large, painful, red bumps that eventually may cause scarring. If you feel you may have cystic acne, go see a doctor or nurse practitioner as soon as possible. Prompt treatment will prevent scarring.
