Causes of Acne
If pores get clogged with oil and dead skin, a natural bacteria on your skin called
P. acnes multiplies. The P. acnes bacteria plays a role in causing
inflamed red pimples.
Heredity is also a factor in causing acne. Stress, certain medications, and the
use of certain cosmetics can also encourage the onset of acne.
Getting Under Your Skin
Let's consider the structure of your skin to understand in more detail how acne
occurs.
Each hair follicle is lined with cells and contains a hair and an oil gland that
supplies oil to the follicle. When oil and dead cells build up inside the follicle
and combine with bacteria, the follicle becomes clogged and swollen. Eventually
the follicle may become blocked, forming a red blemish, or pimple. There are three
types of blemishes: whiteheads, blackheads, and inflammatory lesions.
Whiteheads, or closed comedones, form when oil, dead cells, and
other material collect inside the follicle and form a plug, closing off the passageway
to the surface of your skin. Blackheads, or open comedones, are
similar to whiteheads except that the plug of oil and dead cells protrudes from
the opening at the skin surface, changes color, and appears dark.
Inflammatory lesions occur when pressure builds up inside the blocked follicle
and the follicle walls break down. The dead cells and other material leak into surrounding
tissue. The skin around the pore becomes red and inflamed; papules or pustules may
form. A papule is a raised, solid lesion on the skin. A pustule
is a raised lesion that contains a white or yellow material commonly called pus.
Inflammatory lesions may eventually cause scarring.
Avoiding acne >
