What Exactly Is Acne?
Acne is a disease that affects the skin's oil glands.
The small holes in your skin (pores) connect to oil glands under the skin.
These glands make an oily substance called sebum.
The pores connect to the glands by a canal called a follicle.
Inside the follicles, oil carries dead skin cells to the surface of the skin.
A thin hair also grows through the follicle and out to the skin.
When the follicle of a skin gland clogs up, a pimple grows.
Most pimples are found on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders.
Acne is not a serious health threat but, it can cause scars.
How does acne develop? Sometimes, the hair, sebum, and skin cells clump together into a plug.
The bacteria in the plug causes swelling.
Then when the plug starts to break down, a pimple grows.
There are many types of pimples.
The most common types are: Whiteheads: These are pimples that stay under the surface of the skin.
Blackheads: These pimples rise to the skin's surface and look black.
The black color is not from dirt.
Papules: These are small pink bumps that can be tender.
Pustules: These pimples are red at the bottom and have pus on top.
Nodules: These are large, painful, solid pimples that are deep in the skin.
Cysts: These deep, painful, pus-filled pimples can cause scars.
Who gets acne? Acne is the most common skin disease.
Nearly 17 million people in the United States have it.
People of all races and ages get acne.
But it is most common in teenagers and young adults.
Nearly 85 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 24 get acne.
For most people, acne goes away by age 30.
But some people in their forties and fifties still get acne.
What causes acne? The cause of acne is unknown.
Doctors think certain factors might cause it: The hormone increase in teenage years (this can cause the oil glands to plug up more often) Hormone changes during pregnancy Starting or stopping birth control pills Heredity (if your parents had acne, you might get it, too) Some types of medicine Greasy makeup.
The small holes in your skin (pores) connect to oil glands under the skin.
These glands make an oily substance called sebum.
The pores connect to the glands by a canal called a follicle.
Inside the follicles, oil carries dead skin cells to the surface of the skin.
A thin hair also grows through the follicle and out to the skin.
When the follicle of a skin gland clogs up, a pimple grows.
Most pimples are found on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders.
Acne is not a serious health threat but, it can cause scars.
How does acne develop? Sometimes, the hair, sebum, and skin cells clump together into a plug.
The bacteria in the plug causes swelling.
Then when the plug starts to break down, a pimple grows.
There are many types of pimples.
The most common types are: Whiteheads: These are pimples that stay under the surface of the skin.
Blackheads: These pimples rise to the skin's surface and look black.
The black color is not from dirt.
Papules: These are small pink bumps that can be tender.
Pustules: These pimples are red at the bottom and have pus on top.
Nodules: These are large, painful, solid pimples that are deep in the skin.
Cysts: These deep, painful, pus-filled pimples can cause scars.
Who gets acne? Acne is the most common skin disease.
Nearly 17 million people in the United States have it.
People of all races and ages get acne.
But it is most common in teenagers and young adults.
Nearly 85 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 24 get acne.
For most people, acne goes away by age 30.
But some people in their forties and fifties still get acne.
What causes acne? The cause of acne is unknown.
Doctors think certain factors might cause it: The hormone increase in teenage years (this can cause the oil glands to plug up more often) Hormone changes during pregnancy Starting or stopping birth control pills Heredity (if your parents had acne, you might get it, too) Some types of medicine Greasy makeup.
Source...