Study Could Explain Why Some People Get Acne and Others Don’t

They are lucky having no acne at all. Sadly, some suffer occasional acne or chronic cystic acne. It is not really fair. When I look at some people who have acne, I wonder how they achieve smooth acne-free skin. They are really lucky to have pimple-less skin, which is envied by someone who hassles with their skin and afford acne treatments and over-the-counter products like pill, scrub, and so on. Yet, they still are overwhelmed with unlikable acne.

Acne vulgaris (acne) is a common condition of the skin, particularly affecting the areas with the densest population of sebaceous (oil) follicles. This includes the face, upper chest, and back. Sebaceous secretions are intended to condition and maintain a hydration balance.

The bane of most adolescents, acne is characterized by areas of skin with seborrhea (scaly red skin), comedones (blackheads/whiteheads), pustules (pimples), nodules (large inflamed papules) – which can result in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (slow healing discoloration), giving the illusion of acne long since gone, and scarring (dimpling/pocking/permanent discoloration).

Acne affects 80 percent of Americans at some point in their lives and is most common among teenagers. Regardless of what some people say about “growing out of it,” the frustrating affliction can continue well into adulthood.

In adolescence, acne is usually caused by an increase in testosterone, which accrues during puberty, regardless of sex – yes, women have testosterone too.

In fact, higher levels of testosterone (or what is commonly referred to as androgens) are typically the cause of cystic acne – massive, inflamed red nodules along the chin line – in women. And ok, yes, for most people, once their hormones have balanced out, the acne does diminish or lessen over time. But there are people who suffer with it into their 40s and beyond.

It is difficult to accept and a wee bit unfair, but some people are just predisposed to have acne over others. Along with hormones, skin-surface bacteria play a role. Acne develops as a result of blockages in the follicles.

Dead cells are meant to desquamate (slough off). When they don’t properly shed they can accumulate within the pores and around hair follicles (hyperkeratinization), forming a commingled plug of keratin (natural protein), sebum (natural oil), and the dead cells. The cohesion of the protein, oil, and cells can block or cap the follicle or clog up the sebaceous duct.

In these conditions, the naturally occurring bacterium Propionibacterium acnes that thrive in the depths of our pores become inflamed. This leads to a variety of infected, inflammatory lesions in the dermis. When the bacteria provoke the immune system it results in swollen, red bumps. 

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/626756/study-could-explain-why-some-people-get-acne-and-others-dont/

Why Do Adults Still Get Pimples?

That is the question of every adult I have known because we know that acne just occurs in puberty stage. This is where teens’ oil glands, become so lively, produce excessive oil. That does not hold true at all because when you get older, you still have this hormones in your body which makes your skin still oily, but not as much as in your teenage stage. The best acne solution is to control the oil production on your face. Some of the ways are by washing your face twice a day, putting oil-control film or just a clean cloth to absorb oil and avoid oily food which contributes more to oil formulation in your oil glands.

Fact: Once you are an adult, you can still have acne because of your oil glands.

Smithsonian.com says “this is sort of true. But it’s sort of not. Here’s how acne really works:”

The first thing to know is that most acne is caused by a bacteria called Propionibacterium (P-bacteria) that lives on everybody’s skin. We all have it, and we always will. P-bacteria lives inside your sweat glands, near your hair follicles and release lipase, an enzyme that digests oil and produces fatty acids. When there’s a lot of oil on your skin, the enzyme goes to town and makes a ton of fatty acids. The body has proteins built in to attack bacteria, called antigens, and when there’s a whole lot of antigens your skin will get inflamed, and your hair follicle there will burst. Tada! Pimple. 

Teenagers do tend to have more acne on average because they tend to produce more oil. But adults don’t escape the acne curse, because we still have P-bacteria, that still release lipase, that still produces fatty acids. Today I Found Out explains that something like 20 percent of adults will have facial blemishes their whole life. And adult women are far more likely to continue getting pimples than adult men—50 percent of women in their twenties report having acne and 25 percent of women in their forties still do.

Basically, you’re bound to have a pimple here and there for the rest of your life. Chances are they’ll show up at key moments, like your wedding day or job interview, but you can at least rest assured that everyone else is still getting pimples, too.

Source: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/04/why-do-adults-still-get-pimples/