Skin Deep: What Causes Acne?

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When the dreaded first pimple appears as a precursor to acne, life for most teenagers takes a turn for the worse, psychologically if not physically. Across the world, people aged between 12 and 25 are vulnerable to this irritating and sometimes painful skin condition, most commonly known as acne vulgaris. The most familiar manifestations of acne are, of course, pimples – both whiteheads and blackheads – but what are the causes of acne?

In a nutshell, acne is the result of overactive sebaceous glands, which secrete an oily substance called sebum. Sebum mixes with dead skin cells and clogs the pores around your hair follicles. Basically, pimples form when this happens.

That is the how of acne. The why is slightly more complicated, because we don’t really know what exactly puts the sebaceous glands into overdrive, but here’s a list of the commonest causes of acne:

Heredity: Simply put, if members of your immediately family suffer or suffered from acne, you are likely to get it too. In other words, the cause of your acne may lie in your genes. This is particularly seen to apply in the more severe cases of acne.

Hormones: Particularly during adolescence, male and female hormones called androgens become active. Since some of these hormones monitor the sebaceous glands, they tend to over-stimulate these glands if your body reacts abnormally to them. This is especially true of the male hormone testosterone, even among females. Most hormonal changes typically occur at the onset of puberty, that life-changing phase when girls start getting their periods, and boys begin the journey to manhood.

Hassle: Continuing with the ‘H’ factor, hassle or stress does not actually cause acne, but it may aggravate a dormant condition.

Medications: Certain medications may cause acne, though the effect varies from individual to individual. These medications may include prescription drugs, though most of them will list acne as a potential side effect, so you know what you are getting into. Most commonly, barbiturates, steroids, and seizure medications have been known to cause acne. 

However, listing the causes is the easy part. Medical science is still not clear about what triggers these causes, so to speak, so we don’t really know why one person’s body will react abnormally to hormones while another person’s will not, or why different people will react adversely to certain medications. So while we understand the process behind acne, the reasons for an actual acne attack can vary.

What we do know is that the following are myths. In other words, they do not cause acne:

• No matter how many chocolates and French fries and colas you consume, they cannot give you acne on their own. As we all know, a diet comprising these foods is obviously not a good idea, but that is independent of whether you have or don’t have acne.

• Dirt does not cause acne. Period. The ‘black’ head of a blackhead is a chemical formation, not dirt. So stop obsessively washing your face – there’s actually a risk that you may aggravate the acne by using harsh scrubbers and soaps.

• Touching an acne sufferer does not cause acne either. We’re not talking an infectious disease here, so people with acne need not go around warning ‘Unclean’!

• Masturbation, or any kind of allied sexual activity, does not cause acne. Some people will try to tell you that even sexual thoughts can cause acne. You now know what to say to that one.