How to get rid of Acne?

What is acne?

Acne vulgaris is no longer a teenage problem. It affects individuals from ages as young as 10 till 40 years old adults. However the good news is those who have suffered from acne into their 40s have a chance to get rid of this embarrassing skin problem . Acne can come out in any form on the skin it can be:
Comedones, zits, blackheads, whiteheads, pustules, deep pimples, boils. However the pus in cysts and pustules are clean and do not have any bacteria in it. These spots are wherever there are groups of sebaceous glands, mainly on the back, chest and face.

What causes acne?

There’s no isolated single factor known to cause acne. Acne can come out during puberty when oil glands start developing around that age, promoted by male hormones produced by the adrenal glands of both girls and boys. Sebum is a natural element which oils and guards the skin, and under various situations, cells that are near to the surface obstruct the gaps of sebaceous glands thereby causing a clog of oil beneath. This lubrication fuels bacteria’s population that are present on our skin and usually do not cause any problems. Once the bacteria multiplies it starts impacting surrounding tissues causing inflammation.

Inflammation on the skin’s exterior releases a pustule; inflammation turns into a pimple; as the inflammation gets worse it ends up as a cyst. If the oil comes through onto the surface, the outcome is a whitehead. If the sebum collects melanin pigment or gets oxidized, the oil starts turning black from white, and we end up with blackhead. Hence blackheads are not filth, and don’t necessarily mean bad hygiene.

Below are factors that are not necessarily direct causes of adult acne:

Heredity: Most individuals do not experience just as their parents did. Almost everybody gets acne at some point in their lives.

- Food:  Findings that food are culprit are far from established and still require further research.

- Dirt:  Sweat does not really trigger acne, therefore, it is not necessary to shower right away after exercise  worrying that sweat will block pores. However too much washing can dry up and inflame the skin.

-  Stress seems to play lesser role in causing acne.

Occasionally some people experience acne due to following factors:

- Due to friction from the contact with other objects like collars, suspenders, helmets, chinstraps can worsen acne.

-  Some medicines can cause or worsen acne, such as those with bromides, iodides or oral or injected steroids. Other drugs which can worsen acne are anticonvulsant drugs and lithium, which is administered to cure bipolar disorder. Majority cases of acne are not medicine related.

There are other skin conditions that may look like adult acne:

Rosacea
Pseudofolliculitis
Folliculitis
Gram-negative folliculitis

How to manage acne?

Before you start any treatment it’s important to start with your lifestyle first. You can start with popular home remedy by applying hot compresses to cysts and pustules. Go for facials and don’t ever try to prick or squeeze the pimples.

Follow simple and regular skin cleansing and care practices. Use mild cleansers such as Neutrogena, Dove, Basis, Purpose, and Cetaphil. These are inexpensive and well known solutions to maintain clean skin and reduce irritation due to sensitivity of the skin.

Use exfoliants and masques as these hold either fine granules or salicylic that act as a very mild peeling instrument. These products get rid of the outer layer of the skin and hence unblock pores. Cleansers that contain glycolic or alpha hydroxy acids are too recommended for being gentle on the skin.

Retinol can promote skin peeling.

Get rid of the bacteria by using anti-bacterial cleansers that contain benzoyl peroxide. Topical creams that can be used onto the affected area. The active elements that destroy surface bacteria consist of sulfur, benzoyl peroxide, and resorcinol.

Regulate your oil glands by using a gentle toner to clean away oil. Antibacterial pads that have benzoyl peroxide can provide additional benefits by helping you get rid of oil.

Acne can affect everyone.  In fact more than 90% of all teenagers, close to 25% of all adults had it at some point in life.
Acne or medically referred as Acne Vulgaris has no straightforward cure, but can be treated. It is a condition that can be managed, controlled and contained. Best way to get rid of acne is to prevent it by stopping it before the condition shows its signs.
It’s also important to start the treatment as soon as the first symptoms appear; the faster you zap the zit the less likely you will get a scar. Another way to prevent acne is to know how it starts and what causes your skin to get pimples.
Acne is not really a direct cause of what we eat, how often we cleanse our faces or due to sweat after the workout, it’s actually caused by few factors.

First there’ll be a blemish that will start 2–3 weeks before it shows up on your skin’s surface. The blemish begins in our sebaceous hair follicles also known as pores. The main purpose of sebaceous glands is to produce sebum; the compound that makes sure our skin is always moist and pliable. As the skin gets renewed, the old cells expire. These cells drop gradually, making way for new skin.

This is where it gets determined if you’re going to get a pimple. Some people lose their old cells consistently; for some sloughing is not even. The improper shedding will cause dead cells to get sticky hence blocking pores. This blockage collects oil and bacteria within the follicle.
It gets bigger as our glands produce sebum.  Our body then treats the dirty mass as a threat and tries to fight the bacteria flooding it with white blood cells. This takes 2–3 weeks, resulting in a pimple.