Why does acne come out on the face and how to treat it?
Acne is the most commonly found disorder that may occur not only on the face but on the surface of the skin in different parts of the body, like the back, stomach, chest, and so on. Acne, though appears as minor pimples, are serious skin disorders and if left untreated can prove to be painful in the areas of occurrence. Moreover, acne spots can become permanent on the surface of your skin and they can be difficult to hide if they are on your face.
What is Acne?
Acne is a very common skin problem, when small red-colored bumps appear all over the surface of the skin in different body parts, but mostly on the face and forehead. These are often referred to as pimples and one of the most important reasons behind the occurrence of acne is due to oily and dirty skin. Though ace or pimples are found to occur among all age groups, these are most common among teenagers or people who have just hit puberty.
Different Types Of Acne:
Acne, though primarily occurs as pimples on oily skin, also possesses a number of types that result due to blockage of skin pores. The main reasons that lead to the development of various kinds of acne are:
- excessive production of oil known as sebum from the sweat glands
- bacteria
- hormonal effects (estrogen for females and testosterone for males)
- dead skin cells
- ingrown hairs on the skin surface
Skin acne can be broadly classified into two categories. They are non-inflammatory acne and inflammatory acne. These can be further divided into some more subtypes such as:
- blackheads
- whiteheads, also known as ‘comedones’
- pustules
- cysts
- papules
- nodules
Experts say that there are some people who are often found to develop all of these types together and this requires proper treatment and good care from a registered practicing dermatologist.
What Are The Possible Causes Of Acne?
The most important cause behind the occurrence of skin acne is hormonal malfunctioning. These types of hormonal imbalances occur during the onset of puberty and the disruptions in the levels of female and male hormones like estrogen and testosterone (there are certain levels of testosterone in female bodies too) cause acne to develop mostly among teenagers.
Apart from these, there are some other reasons too behind the occurrence of acne. Some of them are clogging of pores that are present on the surface of your skin. Due to the blockage of pores, these tiny particles cannot release the entire sebum and this leads to the development of acne on the skin surface. Moreover, when a large number of dead skin cells is present beneath the skin surface, they also tend to cause several types of skin problems including the development of acne and dark spots
Unlike men, most women suffer from face and skin acne because during puberty there occur a lot of hormonal changes in the female body along with which begins the menstruation cycle, and their cumulative effect often causes skin problems like acne. Moreover, if there are hormonal fluctuations among menstruating, pregnant, and breastfeeding women, or women who are nearing their menopause, then they are likely to develop dark spots and skin acne problems.
Symptoms Of Acne:
Acnes can be of several types and can develop over various portions of the skin surface all over the body. The major symptoms of acne and skin spots are as follows:
- You will find spots of small, red-coloredacne called papules to develop on your skin or body surface that become large bumps and are a type of inflammatory acne that occur due to damages of hair follicles on the surface of skin.
- Another kind of small, red pimplecalled Pustules are found to develop on the skin surfaces that are filled with semi- liquid pus.
- Nodules are a type of solid lumps that are found as black spots beneath the surface of your skin and when they grow they are quite painful.
- Cysts are large lumps and filled with the white pus that occur beneath the surface of your skin and are usually painful.
Ways To Treat Acne:
Acnes are treatable and can be treated both from home and by using medicinal components. But in case, the conditions of acne are severe in nature then it is extremely important to consult an expert dermatologist.
Acne Home Remedies
Mild symptoms of acne can be easily treated at home with some home-care techniques. Some of them are as follows:
1. Treatment Using Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil is an important component to treat acne at home. This component is easily available at home from the extracts of a tree known as Melaleucaalternifolia. Recent dermatological studies have revealed that the extracts of tree oil along with other essential oils, (for instance with vitamin oil and aloe- vera extracts) that contain essential skin- beneficial compounds like benzoyl peroxide are potential enough to prevent acne as it helps to fight the acne-causing bacteria and thus promotes an oil-free and germ- free skin.
2. Application Of Green Tea Extracts: Green tea extracts are popularly known for their rich and powerful antioxidant properties. Green tea extracts are filled with antioxidants like flavonoids, polyphenols, and tannin that prevent the occurrence of skin acne if they are applied on the skin surface.
Some other home remedies are as follows:
- Cleaning your skin every day and removing excess oil
- Keep your hair tidy by washing it regularly with shampoo and conditioner
- Using oil- free make up products
- It is formidable to prick picking pimples or acne, that might be more fatal and can lead to further infections
Medicinal Treatments:
In some severe cases of acne, home remedies might not be enough to treat them. There are certain medicines that experts and dermatologists exclusively prescribe to treat severe conditions of acne. Some of them are listed below:
- Doctors prescribe anti- acne creams and gels that consist of chemical compositions like benzoyl peroxide that is capable enough of drying out existing pimples and prevents the formation of new acnes on the skin surface by removing the pore blockage and also fights the action of bacteria that are responsible for causing acne.
- There are some antibiotic creams and medicines that are often prescribed by dermatologists to reduce the occurrences of inflammation acnes and fight pimple- causing germs and these antibiotic medicines are potential enough to build resistance against such bacteria also.
- When your body develops large bumps of cysts beneath the surface of the skin, then dermatologists commonly treat them using some classes of steroid injections called cortisones that reduce inflammation acne and other types of skin pimples too.
Apart from these, some common classes of drugs that are commonly prescribed for the treatment of acne are:
Retinoic acid
Isotretinoin or Accutane
Medicines or acne creams containing vitamin A for treating nodular acne
Laser light treatment for acne removal- a process known as photodynamic therapy
How To Prevent Further Development Of Acne?
As discussed earlier, acne may develop due to a varied number of reasons and one will find it hard to prevent. There are some steps that many experts and dermatologists advise following in order to lower down the occurrences of skin problems like dark spots and acne. Some of them are listed below:
- Rinse your face twice a day with an oil-free cleanseror with an anti- acne face washto remove oil and dirt
- Use anti- acne cream and avoid using oily creams to prevent excess oil on your skin
- Stop using oil- containing foundations or skin crèmes
- You can cause oil- free night cream and remove make- up before you sleep
- Take a refreshing bath after sweating out to keep out oil, dirt, and sweat from your body and skin
- Have a proper balanced diet with lower amounts of oil and fast foods
- reduce stress disorders and anxiety
If in case you are facing severe acne problems, it is always advisable to seek professional help from a registered dermatologist or a skincare expert.