Acne Articles

As if being a teen isn't hard enough as it is, many teens have the unfortunate burden of dealing with acne outbreaks as well. Surprisingly, nearly 80 percent of teens around the world suffer from this all-too-common skin condition. But any parent of a teen faced with acne knows that it is far more than a mere "skin condition", often times causing their loved ones to deal with embarrassment, withdrawal and in the worst cases, severe depression. It's a shame because in all but the most severe cases, acne is a very treatable condition. However, in the meantime, it will help if you have a better understanding of acne, its causes and treatments in order to help your teen cope with the problem and treat it effectively.

Acne Causes

Unfortunately there isn't just a single cause of acne. There are several factors that can lead to acne development which vary from one person to the next. However one of the primary factors that causes acne to appear, especially in teens, is the body's overproduction of male hormones (called androgens). This overproduction of androgens causes glands in the skin to produce excess oil which eventually clogs the hair follicles and becomes infected, leading to the red, swollen acne sores every teen fears. Obviously if this is a possible cause of acne then it makes sense that boys would have more severe acne than girls since they naturally produce more of these hormones.

Hopefully this helps dispel some common myths about acne, like it forms as a result of eating chocolate or junk food. While it's true that some people have reactions to certain foods which lead to acne outbreaks, there's no conclusive evidence that any one particular type of food causes acne outbreaks for everyone. In addition, acne development doesn't have anything to do with someone having poor hygiene, though keeping your skin clean with mild washing a couple of times a day certainly helps. However, constant vigorous scrubbing because you're worried about poor hygiene can actually irritate the skin and make matters much worse.

Acne Cures

Acne treatment and prevention is a long-term process and your teen will need to make certain things part of their normal daily routing for maximum results. The tips just mentioned on keeping your face clean are good for starters. But in addition to that, your teen should avoid picking at the acne sores or popping their pimples. However tempting it might be, that will only serve to spread the acne around, prolong the outbreak and generally make matters worse, even if it does provide some temporary relief.

There are plenty of over-the-counter medications that you can find at your local pharmacy or online that many acne patients use with great success. There are also herbal remedies and even prescription medications your doctor can provide if you find you need something stronger. A word of caution though. Since everyone reacts a bit differently to acne remedies, it might take a bit of trial and error to find one that works for your teen. As the parent, it will be important to help them remain patient since they might have unrealistic expectations in terms of the results.

In addition, even if you dealt with acne as a teen, it will be important to learn about current trends in acne treatment. Many things have probably changed since then and several new treatments are likely available now that weren't around a few years ago. By learning more about acne and what the current trends are you can be an informed source of information and comfort for your teen and can help guide them through this potentially difficult stage in their life.