What is Acne?

All types of acne — blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and cysts — develop when pores in our skin become clogged. The culprit is sebum [see-bum], an oil in our skin. Our bodies make more sebum when our hormones surge. This is why teens get acne. This is why women often breakout before their periods. Since hormones fluctuate in the years leading up to menopause, many women in their 40s and 50s get acne.

Acne occurs as:
• Blackheads (plugs of sebaceous secretions (skin fats, which may be liquid like oil or
more waxy) which appear black due to oxidation);
• Whiteheads (like blackheads but sealed with skin cells, giving the appearance of a
white plug);
• Pustules (tiny infections in a pore which appear red, swollen and contain pus and
other fluid); and
• Cysts (deep infections which occur as painful, sometimes red bumps but resist the
extraction of their contents).

A blackhead appears when sebum and dead skin cells clog the pore. While the pore is clogged, its surface remains open. This lets us look into the pore and see a black color. Your dermatologist may call a blackhead an “open comedo” (co-me-dough).

A whitehead forms when the excess oil and dead skin cells clog the pore and block the opening of the pore. Because the pore closes, dermatologists call this type of acne a “closed comedo.”

** Blackheads and Whiteheads are example of non-inflammed comedones.

The excess oil does more than clog pores. Bacteria that normally live on our skin, P. acnes, thrive in this excess oil. Immersed in excess oil, the bacteria can rapidly increase in number. As the bacteria multiply in a clogged pore, the pore becomes inflamed. Inflammation is what causes a pimple to look red, hot, and swollen.

When inflammation reaches deep into the skin, an acne cyst forms. This is the most severe type of acne. Cysts can be very painful. People often see permanent scarring after this type of acne heals.


Common feedback received on acne appearance vs root cause.

Candida, fungus, yeast & mold
- very uneven skin tone, rash like pimples. The spots sit under the skin are small and dont hurt.
- Occasionally they'll come to the surface but the heads are very small. The skin has a shine to it and is oilier thannormal in problem areas.
- Most common part of the face affected is the T-zone.

Congested liver
- alot of blackheads and clogged pores.
- Often dry skin. Breakouts appear anywhere on the face and easily come to the surface with a head. Surface pimples are very red and can be sore to touch.

Adult hormonal problems including PCOS, PMT, menopause,childbirth, breast feeding,and estrogen dominance
- pimples more frequently sit under the skin and dont always surface (headless).

- pores are clogged with many blackheads and whiteheads.
- The pimples are often cystic or blind, can be very painful and someitmes take weeks to heal.
- There arent many blackheads or whiteheads and amount of oil on the skin is irrelevant to the problem. You can still get this type of acne with very dry skin.
- women often experience most of their acne along wthe jawline.

Heatiness / Dampness / Constipation
- acne often appear near jawline and sit under the skin and down always surface.

Cosmetic acne
- the pores are very clogged with many blackheads, whiteheads. Breakouts are mild but frequent.
- there are no cystic acne. The pimples are small and often appear in cluster.

Puberty
- acne can range from mild to very severe. the skin is often oily.
- pimples are usually very red and sit on the surface , but in severe cases there can be large cystic acne or pustules.
- it is more common for boys to suffer from more severe types of acne than girls in this stage.

Stress
- acne can range from mild to severe depending on the amount of the stress, but usually shows up as hormonal

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.

Understanding Oily Skin

Oily skin is caused by over-active sebaceous glands, that produce a substance called sebum, a naturally healthy skin lubricant. When the skin produces excessive sebum, it becomes heavy and thick in texture leaving face looking shiny and dirty. The oily-skin type is not necessarily bad, since such skin is less prone to wrinkling, or other signs of aging, because the oil helps to keep needed moisture locked into the epidermis (outermost layer of skin).

The negative aspect of the oily-skin type is that oily complexions are especially susceptible to clogged pores, blackheads, and buildup of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin. Oily skin can be sallow and rough in texture and tends to have large, clearly visible pores everywhere, except around the eyes and neck.

Oily skin is normally an inherited condition but can also come about for a variety of other reasons including:

- Diet
- Lack of exercise
- General bad health
- Hormonal reasons
- Stress
- Humid and hot weather
- Cosmetic and cleansing products

Skin Structure

Our skin is the largest organ of the intergumentary system made up of multiple layers of ectodermal tissue. Skin plays important role in protecting body agains pathogens and excessive water loss. Its other function are insulation, temperature regulation, sensation, synthesis of Vitamin D and protection of Vitamin B folates.

Our skin consist of three main layers.

1. Epidermis
- divided into 5 sublayers; stratum corneum, lucidum, granulosum, spinosum, basale

2. Dermis
- contains hair folicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, apocrine glands, lymphatic vessels and blood vessels

3. Hypodermis

The entire surface of the skin consists of tiny holes commonly called pores or sebaceous hair follicles, which contain several sebaceous glands. The hair follicles are being provisioned by the sebaceous glands with an oily substance called sebum. Sebum is actually the oil that keeps your skin moist and pliable. As your skin renews itself, the old cells die, mix with your skin's natural oils, and are sloughed off.

Severely damaged skin will try to heal by forming scar tissue. This is often discolored and depigmented.