Adult Acne - An easy fix

          Who's the sort of person you imagine when someone mentions acne? The image of a greasy haired teenage nerd, awkwardly spluttering when confronted with those alien-like girls springs easily to mind, but there are some myths here that need to be debunked. While it is true that acne usually springs up while going through puberty, and dies by your early twenties, this isn't always the case. Adult acne effects a large number of people, many of whom mistakenly attribute it to stress, or lack of hygiene. Both of these reasons are partly true; stress itself can't cause more acne to appear, but high hormone levels and sweating can contribute to acne developing.
          High hormone levels are common in puberty, due to the increased amount of Testosterone in both boys and girls. Testosterone and other hormones cause pores to get larger and for the skin to secrete more oil, neither of which help prevent the outbreak of acne. Unfortunately for women, the menstrual cycle also creates increased hormonal activity, leading once again to an increased risk of acne. Lack of hygiene is only the case in a very small percentage of the people who have acne, and is easily cured by washing your face more, but not too much! Doing so more than twice a day can cause dryness and irritation of your skin, even to the extent that the over-washed areas start to produce more skin oil, further worsening the acne.

          This skin oil is present on all of your skin, so when you touch your face with your hands, you're increasing the amount of oil that's already there, as well as trapping Propionibacterium (the bacteria that causes acne) in hail follicles. While Propionibacterium is normally present in your skin, it only becomes a problem when it gets deep down and clogs your pores, and can cause redness and even inflammation, which can later result in scarring. The acne caused by this is called a whitehead, but if the pore isn't entirely blocked, a blackhead forms.
          There are several other factors that are known to be linked with acne, heredity perhaps being the most aggravating of them all, but thankfully, there are cures for all sorts of acne, no matter what the cause. There are four methods that have been scientifically proven to help reduce acne; reducing the amount of dead skin; killing the dastardly Propionibacterium; reducing inflammation; and hormone therapy (which isn't as scary as it sounds). Things called topical retinoids are related to either Vitamins A or E, and work by normalising the follicle cell life cycle, which basically means that they die less often and thus don't block the pores as much. There are several methods of anti-bacterial, two of the main ones are either ingested orally or by application directly onto the skin. These work by killing the Propionibacterium and unblocking the pores. Many of the treatments for acne have multiple effects, many of which can reduce inflammation of the acne infested area, making it less visible and speeding up its treatment. While hormonal therapy sounds like a strict programme of visits to the doctors and numerous injections, the reality is much simpler - contraceptives. Many contraceptives that women take work by changing the cycle of hormone secretion, essentially normalising it and preventing the side effects that the constant change in hormone levels can cause.
          The simplest method of curing acne is merely a change to your diet, increasing the intake of foods rich in Vitamins A and E, such as nuts, seeds, wheatgerm, sweet potatoes, carrots, mangoes, and spinach. While increasing vitamin intake may not always improve acne, it is by far means the easiest and healthiest option, though it's worth noting that those are the only types of foods that have any effect on acne; a welcome call for all the chocoholics among you.

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