To understand how to treat your acne, you need to understand what acne is and its causes. The skin is vital to our well-being, It plays a crucial function. It keeps your body safe from harm, damage and infection. The skin is designed to keep out harmful bacteria and viruses. Your skin adjusts to temperature so you'd feel warm when the temperature is cold. It also keeps you cool when the temperature is hot.



Your sebaceous gland beneath the skin secretes oil or sebum to keep your skin from becoming dry and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, there are times when the sebaceous glands become overactive and produce more sebum than the body needs. The oils are left stuck on the pores. This blockage keeps the dirt inside the skin and the dirt then combines with the bacteria. This ultimately results to acne.

“Why does it happen to me and not to others?”

This is often the complaint of people who are suffering from acne. You'd probably hear your own teenage daughter complaining of the same thing. So, why does it happen to some and not to others?

Actually, more than 50 percent of the women's population suffers from acne at point in their lives. These women can blame their hormone level changes. This is more common amongst teenagers because their bodies are growing from “child” into “adult” and hormonal changes occur along with the bodily changes. The hormones that cause teenagers to grow hair and deeper voices are the same hormones that may cause the acne. To be specific, these are the androgens which is a type of hormone that can cause the acne.

Acne, however, is not just a problem of teenagers. It is also a problem for some adults. So, does this mean that the teenagers who suffer from acne will continue to suffer acne for the rest of their lives? Actually, it doesn't work that way. The human body actually copes with the hormonal changes and the body adjusts to these changes.

Eventually, the acne goes away. However, the same hormones may act up and once again trigger the acne problem later on. There are women who suffer from acne during their menstrual periods. Some women would experience acne breakouts during pregnancy or while going through menopause.

Aside from hormones, there are other factors that can cause adult acne. Your cosmetics may contain irritating ingredients that may trigger acne breakout. You could be taking medications like lithium or anti-epileptic medications that may cause acne.

There are a lot of external things that can cause acne on adults. Some of these things include:

1. Pollution. There are a lot of pollutants in your surroundings. Unwittingly, you may not be aware but exposing your skin to dust, dirt and grime will eventually cause acne.

2. Unhealthy diet. You can't always blame McDonalds'. Eating French fries or other greasy foods does not really cause acne per se. However, there are people who react negatively to certain foods. It is up to you to take note of foods that trigger acne breakouts.

3. Fabrics. Imagine purchasing a new pillowcase. After washing it, you immediately wrap your pillow with it. After a couple of days, you begin to notice acne breakouts – whiteheads and blackheads dotting the tip of your nose and your cheeks. The culprit is your pillowcase especially if it is made of synthetic materials. Better go for natural fibers like cotton. Indeed, there are a lot of things around you that can cause acne without you knowing it.