What is Acne? How Does Acne Form?

Did you know that 80% people between the ages of 12 and 25 are diagnosed with being inflected with acne? This makes it the most common skin condition.
What is acne? How does acne form? I am sure many women, girls and some adolescent boys have wondered this while looking at their pimply reflection in the mirror. In technical terms,

“Acne is the occurrence of infected or inflamed sebaceous glands in the skin”

In lay man terms, acne is the presence of infection or swelling in the pores of the skin. How does acne form? There are a lot of speculations with regards to the causes of acne. What causes acne, and how does acne form are two separate questions. Despite the causes of acne, the basic formation procedure remains the same mostly. Let us understand the steps to how does acne form.

Formation of Acne:

Stage 1: The first thing to understand when looking at the formation of acne is understanding what is acne. We have already discussed that aspect above. So, let us delve deeper. The pores are the tiny openings in the skin from where very fine hair grows. These hair are basically a part of the skin.

Stage 2: The sebaceous glands that are connected to the pores secrete a substance called sebum. The sebum is responsible for the lubrication of the hair and the skin.

Stage 3: Acne is caused with the sebaceous glands end up secreting too much oil. Hence, people with oily skin are more prone to acne and pimples.

Stage 4: The pore’s lining naturally renews itself. Like all the other cells in the body. When the lining renews itself, it sheds the dead cells. The problem occurs when these dead cells combine with the sebum to create a plug of sorts.

Stage 5: This plug formation causes the pore to get enlarged and blocked. If this plug stays beneath the skin, its called a white head. If the plug rises above the surface of the skin, it is called a black head. It is worse when the walls of the plug break down. That causes a pimple.

Acne is a phenomenon of the spreading of such infection. The broken down plug is the perfect spot for the breeding of bacteria. When one keeps touching such affected spots and then touch the unaffected area of their skin, the infection spreads. Sometimes the bacteria and oil combine to cause cysts. Cysts are deeper and more painful than normal pimples. They cause even more severe scarring. Based on the percentage of infection, there are different types of acne that can occur to you. Finding the actual type and getting rid of it is always the best way.

When understanding what is acne, one needs to know that definitions aside, acne is simple infection of the pores of the skin. This infection is caused by not keeping the skin cleansed, constantly touching the skin with not-so-clean hands, and consumption of extremely oily foods.
I now hope that your questions like what is acne and how does acne form are answered to some extent. This is where I sign off! Stay beautiful