Acne is among the most common of healthcare issues with a global presence. It can affects people of all ages, at any point during their lifetime. Some people suffer from sporadic acne break-outs while some have a chronic acne problem. Acne is also one of the most misunderstood of skin problems. There are many fallacies regarding the causes of acne. Before you seek a treatment for acne, it is better to understand what causes acne—the most widely-acknowledged causes of acne include:

1. Dermatological (skin-related) Causes

The facial skin, including the neck, contains a higher concentration of skin pores. Acne often occurs when these pores are obstructed. The obstruction promotes the growth of bacteria and inflammation. Common, external factors that clog the pores include dust and other contaminants/pollutants in the air. Internal or bodily factors that can cause widespread blockage of pores include excessive sebum. Sweat-producing glands in our body are called Sebaceous Glands. They produce a slightly-oily substance, called Sebum that helps to keep the skin moisturized. However, excessive sebum formation tends to block the pores, raising chances of acne formation.

2. Hormonal Causes

Hormones are the body’s biochemicals, responsible for stimulating many metabolic activities. The concentration of hormones rises significantly during puberty. This sudden rise in hormonal levels is responsible for the most understood form of acne, i.e. Adolescence Acne. However, hormone-related acne is not limited to pubertal teenagers. Activities that tend to stimulate higher secretion of the male hormone, i.e. Testosterone, can cause acne break-outs. This is commonly found among people involved in heavy weight-training in gyms. Among women, hormonal acne is also found during pregnancy. During pregnancy, levels of hormones like Estrogen and Progesterone tend to surge, inducing acne break-outs.

3. Toxicity-related Causes

Liver is like an in-built detoxification system, responsible for removing toxins in our body. Due to liver diseases or lifestyle habits like excessive smoking or alcohol intake, the liver’s functionality is compromised. This means that contaminants/toxins are not properly removed from the bloodstream. This raises the vulnerability of the body to internal & external inflammations, including inflammatory acne conditions like Rosacea.

4. Digestion-related Causes

Digestion has a direct impact on our dermatological health. If digestion is incomplete, important acne-fighting micronutrients like Zinc are not fully absorbed. Secondly, lack of fiber and water intake causes constipation. Constipation causes impaction of stools within the intestines. These hardened stools are invaded by bacteria. They leach toxins that are absorbed into the bloodstream. Constipation also allows expelled hormones within the feces to escape into the bloodstream. This causes unwanted changes in the hormonal levels, causing acne.

5. Psychological Causes

Stress is regarded as an underlying, psychological cause of acne. Though stress might not directly cause acne, it raises our vulnerability to skin problems. Stress-related acne is commonly found among adults. Stress and anxiety tend to affect the equilibrium of hormones in our body and adversely affect digestion. This also impairs the immune system to some extent, making us more vulnerable to acne-causing skin infections.

6. Dietary Causes

Some foods are known to make the skin more vulnerable to developing acne while some aggravate acne breakouts. This includes:

• Dairy Products—milk and cheese prepared from high-fat milk are loaded with trans-fats that tends to worsen acne. Sometimes, milk contains residues of hormones produced by a lactating cow. Many of these hormones contribute towards raising DHT hormone levels.
• Seafood—crab, oysters, shrimp and lobsters contain very high amounts of iodine. This mineral is a direct deterrent to skin’s healing. Iodine worsens inflammation of acne.
• Refined Sugar Foods—foods containing high amounts of processed sugar can push you towards developing acne. Refined sugar gets instantly absorbed into the bloodstream causing a sugar spike that upsets the hormonal balance.

7. Other Causes

Some people develop acute acne break-outs due to:

• Use of prescription meds, such as fertility drugs and hormone replacement medications.
• Repeated skin allergies that subdue the skin’s immunity, making it more vulnerable to acne-causing bacteria.
• Very dry facial skin. This causes accumulation of flaky skin debris that clogs the pores.
• Excessive sweating along the forehead and dandruff. These typically cause acne along the forehead.

Apart from understanding causes of acne, it is important that you can sensibly choose effective acne treatment. Rather than using chemically-formulated acne medications that are known to induce side-effects, it is better to try natural acne aids. For instance, the Clear Skin MAX is a comprehensive skincare system that effectively cures acne.