Acne makes you feel you’ve lost the control of your body in a way. Even the mildest case of acne is a serious problem for skin of color; and the tiniest blemish unleashes a chain of events that is difficult to combat.
Acne is humbling, it doesn’t matter who you are. Although breakouts are beyond your control and it is important to understand that there is no cure for acne, it is possible to manage it. In this article, BEBEAFRIKANA presents to you the major causes of Acne.
MAJOR CAUSES OF ACNE
You have heard people question whether eating habits contribute to acne. A small percentage of people develop acne as a result of what they eat, fried foods or chocolate may cause acne flare-ups in some people. For most people, however, food does not trigger acne. Yet in every case, a healthy diet including fish, grains, green vegetables, fruits, fiber, and water can help to improve your skin.
Acne is primarily caused by what happens inside your body, your hormonal system gets acne going. You are likely to have the first flare up at the beginning of adolescence when your hormones kick in. That is why children between eight and thirteen years old are suddenly humiliated by eruptions on the face, and sometimes on the neck, back, chest. Acne is one of the things that makes adolescence really tough.
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THE ANDROGEN FACTOR
You probably have heard about the hormone androgen, which you may automatically connect to men. Although men produce larger quantities, women produce androgen too. Your glands begin to manufacture androgen when you are an adolescent. You see the effect as hair grows under your arms and in the pubic region. When acne bumps begin to form, its another sign that your body’s chemistry is changing.
If you are acne-prone, androgen may enlarge the sebaceous glands that are deep in your skin. These oil-producing glands are connected to tiny hair follicles that you cant see. The follicles open at the pores which are tiny holes on the surface of the skin. When everything is healthy and works properly, the oil naturally lubricates your skin; but when androgen gets overactive, you have a problem.
Androgen stimulates the sebaceous glands to pump out more oil, and the oil interacts with the bacteria that we all have on, and in, our skin. The excess oil clogs up your pores with the formation called a plug. Clogged pores trap the bacteria that naturally lurks in the hair follicles under the skin, with nowhere to go, the bacteria gets agitated. It causes inflammation and redness. It produces chemicals and enzymes that spew out fatty acids, now the clogged pores are really stopped up.
Acne appears in two forms; non-inflammatory acne and inflammatory acne.
Non-inflammatory Acne
If you develop non-inflammatory acne, you are likely to see blackheads or whiteheads on the surface of the skin. When you have blackheads, it means that the follicle is open. it isn’t a speck of dirt inside the hole. The air from the outside has seeped into the open pore and darkened the oil. You’re actually looking at a tiny spot of discolored oil.
If you have a whitehead, it means your pore is closed. The oil hasn’t been exposed to the outside air and it hasn’t been discolored , but underneath the closed pore is a buildup oil pressing against the surface of the skin.
Inflammatory Acne
The first signs of inflammatory acne are swelling and inflammation. This looks and feels quite different from blackheads and whiteheads. You have inflammatory acne when you see bumps and blemishes on the surface of your skin. You are likely to have deeper, swollen, and tender or even painful bumps under the skin. When inflammatory acne forms, there’s a lot of activity going on underneath the surface. Pressure builds up under the skin, clogged pores burst, white blood cells are stimulated, and boom-you have larger pimples, redness, swelling, pus, and cysts along with blackheads and whiteheads. It is possible that you will have severe inflammation. If you don’t get treatment, the inflammation can cause deep scars.
In the skin of color, the line between non-inflammatory and inflammatory acne may be blurry. Researchers found that when people of color get a blackhead or whitehead, the skin is often inflamed. This is another reason why its important to get the proper treatment.
NATURAL HEALING
At some point, your immune system kicks in and the anti-inflammatory process begins. The acne can heal on its own, but it may take days, weeks, or even months. For some people, it may take years, It all depends on your body. With skin of color, as the acne heals, the dark marks appear.
If you treat the acne, you can shorten the process and control the discoloration. Again if you have inflammatory acne, nothing you do on your own is going to help significantly. It is important to seek treatment and develop a management plan with your doctor.
We wish that we could say that the acne will go away tomorrow, but we cant. If you are acne-prone, you are likely to have persistent flare-ups throughout your life, but you can manage the acne and dark marks. You can take control and prevent the acne from getting worse.