Acne

Causes of Acne

Acne is caused when hair follicles, which are tiny holes on the surface of your skin, become blocked. Sebaceous glands are tiny glands found near the surface of your skin. The glands are attached to hair follicles, which are small holes in your skin that an individual hair grows out of. Sebaceous glands produce an oily substance called sebum to lubricate the hair and the skin to stop it drying out. When the glands produce too much sebum, it can mix with dead skin cells, and plug the follicle. This can also result in very oily skin (Clean and Clear have a wonderful oil blotting sheet to help with this!) If the plugged follicle is close to the surface of the skin, it will bulge outwards, creating a whitehead. Alternatively, the plugged follicle can be open to the skin, creating a blackhead. Sometimes harmless bacteria on the skin can then infect the plugged follicles, which can result in more angry and inflamed papules, pustules, nodules or cysts.

Causes of Acne

Acne is caused when hair follicles, which are tiny holes on the surface of your skin, become blocked. Sebaceous glands are tiny glands found near the surface of your skin. The glands are attached to hair follicles, which are small holes in your skin that an individual hair grows out of. Sebaceous glands produce an oily substance called sebum to lubricate the hair and the skin to stop it drying out. When the glands produce too much sebum, it can mix with dead skin cells, and plug the follicle. This can also result in very oily skin (Clean and Clear have a wonderful oil blotting sheet to help with this!) If the plugged follicle is close to the surface of the skin, it will bulge outwards, creating a whitehead. Alternatively, the plugged follicle can be open to the skin, creating a blackhead. Sometimes harmless bacteria on the skin can then infect the plugged follicles, which can result in more angry and inflamed papules, pustules, nodules or cysts.

Acne Treatments

Prescription medications that can be used to treat acne include:

• topical retinoids
• topical antibiotics (such as Zineryt or Duac)
• azelaic acid
• antibiotic tablets (such as lymecycline)
• in women, the combined oral contraceptive pill
• isotretinoin tablets  (Roaccutane)

In cases of severe acne, where you may have a large number of large papules / pustules on your chest and back as well as your face, your GP may refer you to a consultant dermatologist. In most acne cases, a course of antibiotic tablets combined with some topical treatments can often help the symptoms if acne. Sometimes these treatment can take 2-3 months before they start to work. It’s important to be patient and persist with a recommended treatment, even if there is no immediate effect.

Acne Myths