Acne is a complicated skin disorder that is commonly misunderstood. People believe all kinds of things that are simply not true such as chocolate will cause acne, acne is just for teenagers, caused by dirt or even that putting a dab of toothpaste on your pimple will make it go away. Often times people are just misinformed or dont take the time to do their research. Acne is an internal skin issue that is caused by your hormones.



Another common misconception about acne is that too much sex will cause it. This claim is false. Since acne is caused by hormones, androgens produce sebum which is an oil that clogs your skin, having no sex or too much sex does not make a difference. Hormones are first developed over puberty and can have an effect on the amount of sex you want, but have nothing to do with breakouts. In fact, sex is known to be a stress relief and reducing stress in your life could actually improve your skin.

Birth control medication is common with treatment of acne. However, people believe that taking antibiotics in addition to birth control will lower the effectiveness of birth control pills. This claim is also false. Many studies have been conducted and there is no proof that there was an increase in pregnancy rates with women taking both medications. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned with taking a combination of pills.

Sweating does not clean out your pores. If you sweat while wearing foundation, the foundation could get into your pores and actually clog them. Sweating also promotes oil production and could also cause your acne to get worse. You should always maintain a regular exercise schedule as working out reduces stress and reducing stress will improve your skin. When you do exercise, wear cotton materials to allow your skin to breathe and get plenty of oxygen and also wash your face directly after your work out. If your clothes become wet from either sweat or water, change them immediately. Wet clothes are a breeding ground for bacteria and will cause more breakouts.

Stay away from the sun! The sun will not improve your acne. It will dry it out temporarily. When your skin is dry, it tells your body to product more oil to compensate, and therefore will only cause your skin to get worse. Being in the sun will make it look like your acne is improving, but the sun will damage your skin more than it will help it. If you are not careful, you could get scarring from the damage. Always wear sun block just to be safe.

Scrubbing your skin excessively and using toner, will not improve your acne, it will just make it worse. It will irritate your skin and you may get infections from it. Also, toners dry out your skin when they are alcohol-based and your body will produce more oil.

Stress does not cause acne, it does, however, trigger flare-ups. When you have stress, your body produces more cortisol and consequently your body produces more oil. Avoid stress as much as possible.

Finally, there is no cure for acne. There may be one day, but for now, ongoing treatment will probably be required.