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FAQ's
What Is Acne?
Acne is a disorder of the skin’s oil glands (sebaceous glands) that results in plugged pores and outbreaks of lesions commonly called pimples. Acne occurs in 90% of teenagers and half of all adult women ages 25-55.
How Does Acne Develop?
Doctors describe acne as a disease of the sebaceous (oil) gland connected to a hair follicle (see figure). The sebaceous glands make an oily substance called sebum that normally empties onto the skin surface through the opening of the follicle.
Acne is believed to result from a change in the inner lining of the follicle that prevents the sebum from passing through. Cells from the lining of the follicle clump together and plug up the follicle’s opening so sebum cannot reach the surface of the skin. The mixture of oil and cells causes bacteria that normally live on the skin, to grow in the plugged follicles. These bacteria produce chemicals and enzymes that cause inflammation; marked by swelling, redness, heat, and pain. When the plugged follicle can no longer hold its contents, it bursts and spills everything onto the nearby skin.
What Causes Acne?
The exact cause of acne is unknown, but doctors believe it results from rising hormone levels. These hormones, called androgens (male sex hormones), increase in both boys and girls during puberty and can cause the sebaceous glands to enlarge and make more sebum.Changing hormone levels in girls and women may cause a flare in their acne 2 to 7 days before their menstrual period starts. Chocolate and greasy foods are often blamed, but research has shown that foods seem to have little effect on the development and course of acne in most people.
Acne is a disorder of the skin’s oil glands (sebaceous glands) that results in plugged pores and outbreaks of lesions commonly called pimples. Acne occurs in 90% of teenagers and half of all adult women ages 25-55.
How Does Acne Develop?
Doctors describe acne as a disease of the sebaceous (oil) gland connected to a hair follicle (see figure). The sebaceous glands make an oily substance called sebum that normally empties onto the skin surface through the opening of the follicle.
Acne is believed to result from a change in the inner lining of the follicle that prevents the sebum from passing through. Cells from the lining of the follicle clump together and plug up the follicle’s opening so sebum cannot reach the surface of the skin. The mixture of oil and cells causes bacteria that normally live on the skin, to grow in the plugged follicles. These bacteria produce chemicals and enzymes that cause inflammation; marked by swelling, redness, heat, and pain. When the plugged follicle can no longer hold its contents, it bursts and spills everything onto the nearby skin.
What Causes Acne?
The exact cause of acne is unknown, but doctors believe it results from rising hormone levels. These hormones, called androgens (male sex hormones), increase in both boys and girls during puberty and can cause the sebaceous glands to enlarge and make more sebum.Changing hormone levels in girls and women may cause a flare in their acne 2 to 7 days before their menstrual period starts. Chocolate and greasy foods are often blamed, but research has shown that foods seem to have little effect on the development and course of acne in most people.
