Acne affects about 90% of teenagers today. In adolescence, boys are more prone to acne and usually have more severe symptoms. Boys have more testosterone, which results in them also having higher levels of androgens (“male” hormones that both sexes have.) Androgens cause the skin to produce more oils, the oils then clumps dead skin cells together.
These clumps of oily skin cells end up clogging pores and trapping bacteria which results in the formation of acne pimples. Girls also have androgens, just at a lower level, which makes girls less prone to breakouts during their teen years and also causes their symptoms to be less than the symptoms teen boys experience.
Next we are going to let you know what causes a person to get acne in the first place. Before we do, though, let us dispel a few myths:
- Acne is a result of being dirty and not showering often enough. Dirt will not cause you to get acne but it can make an existing condition worse.
- Sugary foods giving you pimples is another myth that is untrue. It is true that too much sugar is not good for you but sugar will not cause a person who doesn’t have acne to suddenly get it.
- Caffeine will make you break out. This, too, is false. The caffeine in soda and chocolate will not give you zits, but may aggravate acne prone skin.
- Greasy fried foods make your skin oilier and make you get acne. The oil found on skin is called sebum and is produced by your oil glands and has nothing to do with the oil we ingest.
So if none of the above mentioned cause acne then what does? There are four causes of acne:
- Bacteria. Bacteria trapped under the skin can cause inflammation and pimples.
- Hormones. As you read earlier testosterone contains androgens that do cause increased oil production and zits.
- Heredity. If one or both of your parents suffered with acne in their teen years then chances are pretty good you too will suffer from breakouts.
- Clogged pores. If pores get clogged they can’t breathe or get rid of the sebum oil they are producing. This causes a back up to occur. Think about a hose with water running out of it, as long as the hose is unlinked you have no problems. If the hose does get a kink in it then the water backs up with no where to go. This will cause it to bulge and eventually burst. The same is true for your pores and the backed up oil, eventually a zit will form.
Now we know what causes acne and what doesn’t. So how do we prevent or cure teen acne? You need to find a skin care program that works for you. When choosing a product to help you cure your acne, you need to remember that acne isn’t just a surface problem, so using a product that only washes your face probably won’t be enough.
The product we recommend is the ClearPores Skin Cleansing System. It is a doctor endorsed 3 part system that is designed to attack acne from all directions. It is the #1 rated product for fast results for curing teen acne, and the doctor and customer success stories on their pages are there to prove that.