Acne Care Tips

Acne is generally attributed to the use of cosmetics, especially oils and other greasy applications on the skin. Use of oils even on the scalp hair has been noticed to aggravate acne, especially on the forehead. Inflammatory acne has a strong component of infection in the sebaceous glands, while the cystic lesions are caused by a combination of blockage and infection and inflammation.

Since acne shows a strong correlation with the onset of adolescence, the sex hormones are considered to playa basic role in their causation. Testosterone and other male sex hormones increase the size of the sebaceous glands and aggravate acne, while oestrogen and other female sex hormones decrease the size of the oil glands and improve acne. Theoretically, therefore, acne should occur only in males and not in the females. However, the hormonal pattern in both the sexes is very complex-females also have a certain component of the male hormones and the oil glands in the skin have certain receptors which respond in an exaggerated manner to the normal levels of male sex hormones. Certain females, who have abnormally high levels of the male sex hormones, develop severe acne and continue to do so even beyond the age of 25 years. Patients who are treated with male sex hormones for some other diseases have also been observed to develop acne as a side effect. Certain other drugs, such as corticosteroids used locally as well as orally, Isonex used for tuberculosis, iodides used in tonics, bromides used for psychiatric problems and contraceptive pills which also contain sex hormones may also produce acne.

Emotional stress is another factor which has been noticed to aggravate acne. Undoubtedly acne tends to spoil the appearance of an individual at a time when she/he wants to look her /his best. It often leads to severe emotional stress in some individuals. On the other hand, a period of emotional stress due to any other cause also often aggravates acne. Thus the very desire to look her /his best actually leads to worsening of the situation.

Some neurotic patients tend to scratch off the acne lesions and produce dark pigmentation in the area. This is a bad practice because it actually leads to worsening of the appearance. Pigmentation generally takes longer than the time taken by the original acne lesions to disappear. Squeezing the acne lesion to express the pus out of the pustule is another bad practice because this can lead to scarring and pigmentation, besides causing a serious risk of the infection spreading to the brain, which can be fatal.