iNaturalHealth

Understanding Acne

Routine acne is a common skin disorder caused by both an increase in hormones (usually during the teen years) and individual personal hygiene habits. It begins with something called a pilosebaceous unit, which is nothing more than a hair follicle, the hair attached to the follicle and a sebaceous gland from which the hair grows. You’ll find pilosebaceous glands all over the body – wherever hair grows.

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Sebaceous glands appear in larger numbers on the face, neck and chest, the places where acne is most likely to appear. Now, Sebaceous glands are important to good health. They produce sebum, an oily substance designed to keep the skin and hair lubricated. So far, so good.

Problems arise, usually during the teen years, when the Sebaceous glands grow larger and start producing more sebum. This happens when the young body begins to produce hormones called androgens. During early adulthood, androgen production declines and the acne problem usually goes away all by itself. But not always.

Bacteria and Acne

The culprit that causes skin eruptions is a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes. This bacterium is normally found on the skin and, for the most part, doesn’t cause any problems.

However, when teens and young adults experience enlarged Sebaceous glands and these glands become clogged with dirt, grime and makeup, that bacteria causes inflammation to occur in the form of pimples.

So, acne occurs in the Sebaceous glands of the skin when these glands become clogged and bacteria, trapped in the clogged gland, causes an infection that most of us call a pimple, acne or a zit if you have a sense of humor about the problem. (It helps.)

This means that there’s an internal and external cause of acne. Internally, the body is producing androgens that enlarge the Sebaceous glands that produce sebum to lubricate the skin. Externally, these enlarged Sebaceous glands become clogged with sebum, grime, make-up and other gunk, clogging the pore. This is when bacteria goes to work, attracting white blood cells to the Sebaceous gland causing inflammation, also known as acne.

So, to attack the problem, you need acne skin care treatments that work both internally and externally to treat the problem at its two sources. That’s the best acne treatment you’ll find – a treatment that addresses the problem at both the hormonal and skin level. Fewer androgens lead to smaller Sebaceous glands which produce fewer clogged pores, fewer infections and less acne.

Because the cause of acne is two-fold, hormonal and skin-related, the best acne treatments attack the problem on two fronts – the inner and outer you.

And you’re the one who starts the process of recovery using the best, most thoroughly tested skin care products available anywhere. And, at prices that will bring a smile to your face. Learn more.