What Can Lead To An Acne Breakout?

The exact cause of acne in most cases is not known. Many doctors believe that acne results from several different factors. One of such factors, and that is very important, is the rise in one's hormone levels. During the pubescent years, the male sex hormones called androgens increase in boys and girls. This can cause the sebaceous glands to enlarge and produce more sebum, which results in acne.

A cause of acne is heredity or genetics as researchers believe that there is a tendency to develop acne as it can be inherited from your parents. In fact studies have shown that many school-age boys who are suffering from acne have a family history of the disorder.

Acne is caused by the sebaceous glands becoming over active and they then secrete oily substances on to the skin and those people with acne are especially sensitive to normal blood levels of the hormone called testosterone and this triggers the sebaceous glands to then produce an excess of sebum (oily substance).

While the oil increases, the dead skin cells that line the hair follicle openings are not shed, which in turns clogs the follicles. With the combination of excess oil and clogged follicles, blackheads and whiteheads form. For many people though, they experience acne only during puberty.

For others, the build up of oil in the hair follicles will create the ideal environment for Propionibacterium Acnes (a bacteria) to grow. This bacteria actually naturally grows on your skin and lives harmlessly, but in the "right" environment it will grow.

The bacteria feeds off the sebum and will produce substances that cause your body's immune system to respond and this in turn inflames the skin and creates the redness that we associated with spots.

In the more severe inflammatory acne cases cysts will develop beneath the skins surface and these can then rupture and spread the infection into nearby skin tissue this can often result in scarring to a person's skin.

Hopefully the information above has provided you with some explanation as to the cause of acne and in other articles written we have explained the various types of treatments and products that are available.