{"id":2011,"date":"2018-07-13T04:51:29","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T04:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2021-03-18T15:55:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T15:55:09","slug":"12-major-triggers-that-cause-acne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/12-major-triggers-that-cause-acne\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Major Triggers That Cause Acne"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Acne is often known as the nightmare of many a teenager who for one reason or another care about the way they look, and an occasional adult who may or may not try a series of treatments in order to get rid of it. Many people have had acne at some point in their lives, and even if this condition results bothersome and unappealing for many, it is harmless and very rarely has any long-term consequence, perhaps a small scar here and there and nothing more.<\/p>\n

However, it is still a cause of concern, and many people want to find out what causes acne and what makes it worse. So here is a list of the top 12 triggers of acne, which increase your risk of developing it or it getting worse. Take these into consideration if you want to prevent the appearance of acne or are trying to get rid of it.<\/p>\n

1. Stress<\/h3>\n

Lately, it seems like stress is identified as the culprit of many conditions and health problems, and even if its role in physical and emotional suffering is sometimes overestimated, it is true that it can make many conditions worse, including acne. What you have to remember is that stress itself will not cause acne, as it could cause other conditions such as insomnia<\/a>, some auto immune phenomena, and heart failure, among a long list of many other health problems.<\/p>\n

So stress will not cause acne, but if you already have acne and you undergo a situation of acute or chronic stress, the hormonal and metabolic changes that it causes on your body are very likely to make your acne worse. Inversely, decreasing the stress in your life and\/or developing more adaptative mechanisms to cope with it and manage it will help your persistent acne go away much faster.<\/p>\n

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2. Excessive production of skin oils<\/h3>\n

Acne<\/a> is, in essence, an accumulation of oils that gather beneath the surface of your skin. Your skin is not a flat surface, it might look like that especially if you have smooth skin, but under a microscope or another powerful lens you will quickly realize that it has countless little holes. These are the points at where the sebaceous channels open to the air. These channels connect your sebaceous glands, which produce your skin oil.<\/p>\n

Skin oil is meant to protect your skin and keep it smooth and hydrated and combat the effects of drying when exposed to certain environmental hazards. Naturally, your sebaceous glands will produce oil and let it leak out through the sebaceous channels. If for some reasons they make too much oil, it accumulates beneath your skin and cause the pimples and other skin features commonly associated with acne.<\/p>\n

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\"\"3. Bacterial colonies living on your skin and in your sebaceous conducts<\/h3>\n

Some people are surprised to find out how many bacteria<\/a> live on and inside our body, and even more to discover that many of them are good for us, and without them, we wouldn\u2019t be able to live. They do things like eating substances and helping transform them into something else, fermenting and processing food, regulating the pH of certain parts of our body, cleaning it from undesired biological waste, and many other functions.<\/p>\n

We have many bacteria living on the surface of our skin, and they eat some of the oil that we produce naturally. As you can imagine, they love sebaceous glands because they eat the oil, they are like fast food restaurants for bacteria. Just as everything else in the body, health is about balance, and if we have too many or too few bacteria there can be problems. In the case of acne, if you have too many bacteria, they can accumulate in your pores and obstruct them.<\/p>\n

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4. Accumulation of dead skin cells on the surface of your skin<\/h3>\n

Our tissues<\/a> naturally renew themselves constantly so they stay fresh and young, and as functional as possible. Ever day, millions of cells in our body are born and die following a fixed and complex process called mitosis. In the case of our skin, our cells are subjected to constant erosion and wearing from the elements, such as the wind, the sunlight, temperature, friction, tearing and many others, so they need to get renewed constantly so our skin stays healthy and strong.<\/p>\n

Newer skin cells come from the deepest layers of our skin, while the cells on the surface are the oldest. They all eventually die and fall off, but they can stick to the surface of our skin and accumulate. If they do that, an aren\u2019t properly peeled off or washed away, they can clog the pores and conducts of the sebaceous glands and cause acne.<\/p>\n

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5. Oily substances clogging your pores and hair follicles<\/h3>\n

For a long time, acne has been linked to poor hygiene<\/a>, and people believe even to this day that the main cause, or at least a very important factor, is not properly cleaning your skin, especially the skin of your face. This isn\u2019t completely false, but also, it\u2019s not completely true either. Some hygienic practices can help decrease the impact of acne on your skin, but other practices will not affect your acne or even make it worse.<\/p>\n

One of the type of substances that most frequently accumulates on your skin and makes your acne worse is oily substances, such as grease, oil and some oil-based skin products and makeup. If you don\u2019t clear your skin regularly, they can get deposited on the surface of your skin and obstruct your pores, which as you know can cause pimples, whiteheads and blackheads.<\/p>\n

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6. Inappropriate skin hygiene<\/h3>\n

The keyword here is inappropriate, not insufficient. Some people believe that in order to get rid of acne they need to wash and clean their skin very often and with many cleansing products, but the truth is that, even if in some cases some forms of dirt can give you acne or make it worse \u2013 just as in the examples before, where we mentioned dead skin cells and oily substances that the body produces naturally \u2013 in other cases excessive cleaning is what will cause your acne to get worse.<\/p>\n

Having a dirty skin does not cause acne, and sometimes having it too clean can be counterproductive; remember that the oils that your skin produces help protect it from irritation. If your skin is too irritated, you can get acne because your pores are swollen<\/a> with an inflammation. If it is too dry, your glands will produce even more oil, and have a higher risk of clogging up.<\/p>\n

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7. Rubbing, pressing and compressing your skin<\/h3>\n

This is one of the lesser causes of acne, but in some cases it plays an important role in sectorized acne, and can even be the main cause of it. There are places in the body where acne is more likely to appear; those are the places where there are more sebaceous glands<\/a>. Namely, the head, the shoulders, the chest and the upper back. Different people will have acne in different sections of their skin, and the sectioning might change in time.<\/p>\n

If you have acne in a particular part of your body, consider the possibility that you might be applying too much pressure or friction to that particular area. Pressure will compress your sebaceous glands and help close the conducts. Friction will irritate your skin and induce an inflammatory response. For example, if you have acne on one shoulder, think if your bag is too heavy and is compressing your skin.<\/p>\n

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8. Consuming some aliments that are known to trigger acne<\/h3>\n

Many people will tell you, if you have acne, that you shouldn\u2019t consume greasy food because they will give you even more acne. This is partially true. Even if most cases of acne are caused by an excess or accumulation of oil on your skin, oily or greasy foods will not increase the amount of acne you have. However, some foods have been identified as possible culprits for giving you more of this obnoxious skin condition.<\/p>\n

For example, the myth that eating chocolate gives you acne has been confirmed by medical research. The exact mechanism of how it happens is still unclear, but results show that eating chocolate is linked to cases of acne getting worse over time. Other foods that have been identified as triggers for acne are those rich in carbohydrates<\/a>: flour derivates, fries, bread, potatoes, and of course, sweets.<\/p>\n

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9. Taking some medication for a variety of physical and mental conditions<\/h3>\n

That medication has side effects is news to nobody, and some in particular have been identified as triggers of acne, or at least, as known culprits of making your acne worse. Specific medications can worsen your case. For example, lithium, which has been used for quite a long time as a mood stabilizer in bipolar disorder and similar mental conditions, can make your acne worse.<\/p>\n

Testosterone<\/a>, which is often administrated as a hormonal replacement therapy for cases of insufficiency or a bad andropause, as well as hormonization for transgender men, deserves its own chapter as androgens in general, to which testosterone belongs, are one of the major causes of acne identified to this day. Other sorts of medication that trigger acne are corticosteroids, which have a similar chemical composition and effect than cortisol, one of the main hormones released during stress responses.<\/p>\n

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10. Hormonal changes that naturally happen during puberty<\/h3>\n

When our body development reaches a point when we are biologically getting ready to reproduce, we undergo many changes that are mostly triggered and regulated by sexual hormones such as testosterone, estrogens and progesterone<\/a>. Many changes associated with puberty, from genital development to what is known as secondary sexual characters \u2013 body hair, the Adam\u2019s apple, development of mammary glands, changes in muscular and adipose tissue \u2013 are directly influenced by these sexual hormones.<\/p>\n

Among the sexual hormones we have androgens, a chemical family that is present in people of all genders; the most widely known androgen is testosterone, not quite exactly called the male hormone. One of the effect of androgens is to increase the activity of sebaceous glands by making them bigger. The more oil we produce in our sebaceous glands, the more chances we have to develop acne, and this is why acne is so common during puberty, when androgens peak.<\/p>\n

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\"\"11. An excess of androgens in the body<\/h3>\n

Although androgens normally peak during our puberty, because they are responsible of making our bodies develop their sexual features, they are present for the rest of our lives. There is an ideal range where androgens should stay so they have their intended effect on the way our body presents itself and works. An excess of androgens<\/a> will intensify all the effects it has on our body, from growing more hair to affecting and potentially dysregulating our reproductive functions.<\/p>\n

There are some conditions that may cause an undesired increase in androgens, especially in women. These are caused hyperandrogenism, and one of the main symptoms of this disorder is the apparition of acne. Androgens that are administrated artificially from outside the body can also increase the impact of acne on our skin. Tumors and other problems in our gonads or our adrenal glands, which produce androgens, could also cause it.<\/p>\n

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12. Hormonal changes caused by oral contraceptives, gonadal conditions or pregnancy<\/h3>\n

Some natural events such as getting pregnant or hitting puberty will drastically change the levels of sexual hormones floating around in our blood<\/a>, and that includes androgens. For example, pregnancy is known to heavily alter the cyclic pattern of hormones in female bodies, which will have very distinct effects on the rest of the body. Some pregnant women will have acne during their pregnancy, and this is completely normal.<\/p>\n

Acne often disappears after delivery or the end of the pregnancy. Other changes in the hormonal cycle of females are induced by the intake of oral contraceptives, which change the hormonal pattern in order to help prevent pregnancies. All these alterations may cause a hormonal imbalance that is likely to lead to the apparition of acne, or the worsening of already existing acne. It is listed as one of the side effects of oral contraceptives.<\/p>\n

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13. Poor Lifestyle Choices<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

People living with acne need to be careful in their lifestyle choices. We\u2019ve already discussed the importance of avoiding greasy foods and sugar<\/a> in your diet, but there may be other food products you think are healthy, that increase your chances of developing an acne outbreak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peanut butter is an excellent example of such a food. Peanuts contain androgens, and as we\u2019ve already shown, androgens can cause acne outbreaks. Review all of the foods in your diet and check online to see if they’re suitable for an acne-free diet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Exercise helps your skin sweat, producing cleansing oils that remove bacteria from your skin. So \u2013 make sure you get a walk in every day and raise your heart rate. Avoid drinking soda and alcoholic beverages, stick to alkaline water, and you\u2019ll rarely receive an acne outbreak. Make sure you start your day with a moisturizing routine that enhances the protection of your skin from UV rays as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"14. Excessive Sun Exposure<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

People that spend all day in the sun need to protect their skin from harmful UV rays. People with acne have incredibly sensitive skin around the face and shoulders, and getting a sunburn in these areas can hurt skin cells, causing an outbreak of acne. IT\u2019s common for people suffering from acne to develop sun blisters<\/a> around their lips, and the oxidative damage from free radicals also causes outbreaks to occur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure that you protect your skin if you\u2019re going out in the sun. Wear a sunblock with a minimum SPF 50 on your face and the back of your neck to stop all UV rays. Remember to wear a hat that covers your face, ears and the back of your neck \u2013 a fishing hat is an excellent choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you do receive a sunburn, make sure you treat it as soon as possible with cooling sunburn lotion and remember to keep your skin hydrated at all times to help improve its recovery from the sunburn.<\/span><\/p>\n

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15. Risk Factors<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Acne only affects a specific demographic of people, and we can identify risk factors that increase the likelihood of a person developing acne, and experiencing outbreaks. Some of the risk factors involved include;<\/span><\/p>\n

Being a teenager \u2013 people of all ages can develop acne, but it’s most common in teens who are experiencing changes in their hormone production.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shifts in hormones \u2013 people who are undergoing hormonal changes, such as those experienced by teens, can develop acne. People with hormonal disorders, as well as pregnant women, are also at risk of developing acne.<\/span><\/p>\n

Medication \u2013 People with prescriptions for drugs such as corticosteroids, androgens or lithium, may experience more frequent outbreaks of acne than those who do not use these medications.<\/span><\/p>\n

Genetics<\/a> \u2013 Your family history also plays a role. If your parents battled with acne as teenagers, then there\u2019s a high probability that you\u2019ll also suffer from the condition as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you notice that you fall into any of the risk categories, call your dermatologist and ask them about strategies to control your acne.<\/span>\r\n

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