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What is Acne?

By Amanda Robinson

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 02Aug2008
Word count: 605
Viewed: 381 time(s)

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Acne affects just about everyone in the world at some time. In North America alone, acne in all its forms affects over 50 million people during the course of their lives. This number does not include the people that have that occasional zit that forms just before that big date, meeting or wedding. It has been determined to be the most common skin disorder throughout the world. 80% of teenagers will suffer from the dread of a breakout at some point in their high school and early college years. It doesn't care if you are a boy or a girl, acne will strike at the worst possible moment. Boys tend to have more severe breakouts and with girls it is not as severe physically, but is more socially stressful.

The specific cause of acne it not really known. What is known is that it does not matter how old or young a person is, breakouts are the end result of clogged hair follicles and sebum (skin oil). The sebaceous glands are attached to hair follicles and produce sebum. When dead skin or dirt blocks the pores of the skin, and some bacteria gets into the pores, acne will form.

There are some additional related factors that also cause some people to be more prone to developing acne than others. Some dermatologists believe that hormones in the body that produce more oil and a person's family medical history are also related in the development and severity of a person's acne. In addition, there are also other factors that cause blemishes to develop such as a reaction to drugs, especially ones that affect the production of hormones in the body such as steroids, as well as a person's health and stress level.

Wake up to Acne

It usually develops in young adults around the age of 10 to 12 and can last for at least 4-5 years and as long as almost 10 years. Unfortunately, for some people this can be longer especially if there is a family history of severe acne. Usually, acne vulgaris or teenage acne strikes when the body starts to produce more hormones, such as at the start of puberty. While embarrassing, the breakouts lessen over time and for many by the time they reach their early 20s, their acne will be gone entirely.

Some people, however will have to deal with blemishes and breakouts well into their 20s and longer. However, there is great news for you if you are one of these people, there are many new treatments and solutions you can use to help reduce or eliminate your acne and improve the overall appearance of your skin.

Adult Acne on the Rise

While it has been mostly considered a problem for teenagers. Today however, many men and women are developing acne problems for the first time in their lives. Now it is no longer considered to be a problem for just teenagers. Men and women, well into their 20s and 30s who never had a problem with pimples or blemishes before are starting to develop acne.

There are some definite differences in the characteristics of adult acne cases when compared to those of teenagers. Teenagers tend to develop more blackheads and whiteheads than adults do. Also the location where blemishes develop is different. In young adults, it tends to develop over the whole facial area, in adult women; the breakouts are located mostly in the lower area of the face. In adult women, the development of adult acne has been associated to sensitivity to hormonal changes from things changes in birth control, pregnancy and changes in their menstrual cycles.

Amanda Robinson struggled with the embarassment of acne throughout her high school and college years. Now, as an acne free adult she passes on her experiences and knowledge about acne solutions to others to help them become free of their embarassing acne.

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