Different Acne Causes
There are a large number of factors that can contribute to acne, from your diet to stress levels, but at the pore level there are three main things that cause your skin directly to break out. These are (1) hardened clumps of oil from excess oil production by your glands, (2) clogged pores which prevent oil from escaping, and (3) bacterial build-ups that cause infections within your pores.
The first scenario appears to be the most common among acne sufferers. Within your pores, there are side chambers which house your sebaceus glands. These glands produce sebum (aka skin oil) which should be able to naturally exit through your pores to the skin.
The problem occurs when these glands produce too much oil too quickly. This excess oil can swell up within the glands, hardening under the pressure and eventually bursting the gland (leading to the inflammation seen in typical acne spots). These hardened clumps of sebum are then too large to even fit into the main shaft of the pore, and thus must usually be forced out (through zit popping) or eventually broken down by the body.
The second type of acne is especially common when it comes to your back and body. Clogged pores are most often clogged by your own dead skin cells. Ideally, your top layer of skin should shed evenly, but this is not always the case. When you shed dead skin cells unevenly, layers of these dead cells can build up over certain areas, drying, flaking, and clogging your pores. This effect can clog the main shaft of a pore, forming a type of plug that keeps oil and bacteria from escaping. It’s more prevailent in body acne due to the naturally thicker layer of skin over your body compared to your face, and the fact that many people exfoliate less often over their body.
The third common cause of acne is bacterial infections. To be sure, both of the above scenarios usually lead to a build-up of bacteria as well, but sometimes a bacterial infection can occur even when the pore has not been clogged first. The acne-causing bacteria,P. Acnes naturally lives within your pores and feeds on sebum. Especially when your body produces excess sebum, your population of P. Acnes can multiply rapidly. The bacteria also releases acids and antigens that lead to inflammation, and can burst sebaceus glands as they multiply within them. Obviously, this situation typically goes hand-in-hand with the first scenario, but whether primary cause is the oil hardening or the bacteria growing may vary in different cases.
In the next update, I’ll talk about some of the different treatments used to target these acne causes.
