You want to know what causes acne, right? Well, first off, put the chocolate bar down, you’re getting the mouse all gooey. Okay, let’s clear up one huge misconception; that chocolate bar isn’t the cause of your acne. The food you ingest does not cause your skin eruptions. On balance though, the more healthful the food you choose the better you will look and feel all around.
Acne is caused by four very basic things: 1) Overactive oil glands, 2) blocked pores, 3) normal bacterial activity, and 4) inflammation.
Oil glands, also called sebaceous glands, are deep within the skin, just beneath your hair follicle; each gland produces oil which flows upward to lubricate your hair follicle through the pore. Your oil glands produce oil when your adrenal glands tell them to; how much they tell them to depends on how much of the hormone androgen you produce. Androgen is a male hormone, but both women and men produce it, though women generally produce it in lesser quantity.
During hormonally challenged times such as at puberty, or when you’re stressed out, your adrenal glands kick out more androgen, which in turn kicks out more oil and you have the start of the acne cycle. So you could say that beneath the four causes of acne lurks a hormonal imbalance – albeit a natural one.
If your pores become blocked (usually because dead skin cells shed and amass), and because the oil is still being produced beneath it, the oil just builds up and up and up, and before you know it, you’ve got a blackhead or a whitehead there.
Skin bacteria loves this sort of ‘blocked pore’ condition, it’s the perfect breeding ground for them. The bacteria grows inside the blocked pores, irritating the skin and resulting in inflammation.
Finally, inflammation – the red, swollen, warm, uncomfortable skin – is your body’s response to something it perceives as foreign, whether it’s the bacteria or the excess decomposing oil, your body is attempting to get rid of it.
So, there you have it, the four basic things that cause acne, not one single thing in and of itself, but one with the other and so on. And acne, fortunately, isn’t something you have to live with, because there are effective treatments out there. Now you’re feeling a lot better about that chocolate bar, aren’t you? That’s good. So go tell that not-so-know-it-all that chocolate has absolutely nothing to do with your acne problem and that they should mind their own business.
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