Discover the root cause of your Acne

To cure your acne, it is critical for you to understand precisely what causing it.

Common ROOT CAUSE of Acne/Pimples:

- Excess Skin Oil
- Dead Cells
- Bacteria; Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is the anaerobic bacterium that causes acne.
- Hormone imbalance / Hormonal Activity such as mentrual cycle & puberty
- Blood / Lymph fluid toxin / congested liver
- Stress, usually link to hormonal
- Chemical / Cosmetic

Excess oil causes by overactive sebaceous gland in producing large volume of sebum (oily discharge on skin). Accumulation of sebum would ultimately block the skin pores causing blackheads,whiteheads and favor the growth of special kind of bacteria called Propionibacterium start growing in this kind of environment. The bacteria increases in number by multiplying and cause symptoms like swelling, redness, and even pain. Skin surrounding the infected area gets acne when the built up mass of sebum, dead cells, and bacteria breaks open or bursts through the walls of a plugged follicle. Thus the lesions spread across previously normal skin.

Irregular shedding and accumulation of dead skin cells is another direct cause of acne. Normally, the sebum secreted by the oil glands moves up along the hair shaft and emerges at the skin surface through the hair follicles. In the teenage years of development, dead skin cells of the follicles are shed rapidly and irregularly. These dead cells mix with the emerging sebum and form a sticky mass (a plug) that clogs the pores of the skin.

Skin oil may also be artificially added to the skin by means of make up i.e. in cosmetics, creams etc. If it is not washed away effectively, it can penetrate and build up beneath the skin surface.

In short, acne/pimples cause by 3 major root cause. Excess oil + Dead cell + Bacteria growth. So, how hormonal activity causes acne?

Hormones are chemical messengers your body uses to send messages back and forth between organs and cells telling them what to do.

Sebum production is controlled by sex hormones called androgens. Included in this family of hormones are testosterone, DHEA-3 and others. The most significant of these androgen hormones is testosterone. Both male and females have active levels of testosterone in their blood; however in women the level of testosterone is approximately a tenth of that found in men.

The amount of testosterone increases during puberty. They activate the sebaceous gland to produce sebum in excessive quantity. The oil surplus then causes the skin pores to become clogged and that is how acne starts to develop. When the sebum overflow and reach the exterior part of your skin it can make contact with bacteria. Bacteria start to breed in the blocked follicle and causes the follicle to get swollen. In defence, the body sends out some white blood cells to the swollen follicle to break the swelling down. This process causes inflammation that results in acne.

The production of androgens also increases along with a woman's menstrual cycle, causing an imbalance of hormones. This is the reason why teenagers and women often suffer from hormonal acne. Many women notice that their acne is worse just before the beginning of their menstrual system. The reason for this is related to the hormonal changes that women undergo during the menstrual cycle, and the appearance of unsightly pimples just before menstruation is due to a peak in the production of androgen mid-cycle and reduced in estrogen.

It is believe hormone acne is cause by increase of androgen hormone. That is why some birth control pills containing female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, can help to reduce acne for some women or teenage girls. Other medicines that are used to treat hormonal acne are antiandrogens, oral corticosteroids, etc. These drugs suppress androgen production and thus check the growth of acne and pimples.

But,why some people with oily skin yet do NOT have acne?

That's because you won't get acne until you mix excess sebum (skin oil) with a very particular kind of highly congesting blood and lymph fluid toxins.

This mixture of excess skin oil, sebum, and highly congesting blood toxins creates the perfect "breeding environment" in and on your skin for acne bacteria to grow like crazy...causing redness, inflammation, swelling, puss, clogged pores, and finally full blown acne.

Hence, how quick your liver function to detoxify your body is important and keeping your skin clean to prevent bacteria growth helps eliminates the problem too.

Keeping your skin clean and using the right skincare/cosmetic is also vital. There are many contrary beliefs that skin hygiene or inflammation causes acne too. However these factors only help in aggravating the problem but not the basic cause of acne and pimples. For example maintaining hygiene and keeping your face clean definitely helps to prevent acne further. If the skin surface is clean then growth of bacteria is easily prevented.