Teen acne is basically a result of hormonal which is a normal part of puberty. It is claimed that 8 out of 10 teens get acne at some point.
There are different types of breakouts, blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and cysts. They are caused when the sebaceous glands (oil glands) get clogged with sebum, which is the oil that lubricates your hair and skin. With the hormonal changes that take place during puberty the amount of sebum produced is sometimes more than you should have. Often the pores become clogged with the sebum and dead skin which cause the outbreak. Bacteria can get trapped inside the pores and multiply which causes the swelling and redness.
Depending on the severity of the "clog" will determine which type of acne errupts.
A whitehead is when the pore clogs up and closes up with a bulge appearing. If the pore gets clogged but stays open you will have a blackhead. A pimple is when the wall of the pour opens up and allows dead skin, bacteria, sebum under the skin. Pimples often times have pus in them as a result of the body’s reaction to the bacterial infection. Cysts (or nodules) are the result of the pores opening deeply and allowing the infection from the bacteria, dead skin and sebum to become larger than pimples and are often quite painful.
The type of food you eat is not the reason for an outbreak, french fries, chocolate or soda do not cause acne. That being said, if you notice an increase in breakouts after consuming certain foods, be smart and omit those foods from your diet, it may help.
Stress can cause acne to get worse due to the increased production of sebum during stressful times.
To help prevent acne or to help in clearing acne up, wash twice daily with the facial cleansing soap discussed on a previous post. Don’t SCRUB your face, that just tears the skin and allows bacteria to grow. Wash twice daily, blot dry. Keep your pores clean to help to prevent or clear up acne.
As a teen you probably wear makeup and sunscreen. Make sure you get the "oil free", "noncomedognetic" or "nonacnegenic" variety and wash your face to remove all residue. Don’t go to bed with makeup on or sunscreen left over from the day in the sun still on your face. That’s just asking for acne to break out.
If you use hairspray, keep it away from your face since it will clog your pores as well as hold your hair in place. Keep your hair clean! Hair has lots of oil and will certainly add to the oily residue on your face if you don’t keep it clean!
So what do you do if you get a sign of a pimple even though you have been doing everything correctly? When you notice one, wash your face and then leave it alone! If you pick, pinch or squeeze it you will just cause it to become worse, the oil from your hands and the fact that you now have an open sore just make it take longer to clear up.
Girls often will get acne just before their period. This is due to the hormonal change taking place in their body. Don’t panic, it will go away, just keep your fingers off them and continue with washing your face twice daily.