Acne is a skin condition that can affect everybody in totally different stages of life but its statistically more common in teens and young adults. It´s a complex problem that has many factors and causes and its very important to be diagnosed and treated correctly! In this article we answer these 3 big questions and learn more about it: What is acne? Why we get acne? How we can treat acne?
What is acne?
Acne is a skin condition, a process that starts with a excess sebum secretions and/ or a blocked pore – that creates the proper environment for Propionibacterium acnés to flourish and multiply fast, that creates an inflammatory response of the immunity system in the skin so its producing a “nice” pimple. Depending on what´s the main reason that starts the process we can have different types of acne:
- If the pores are open all the sebum and dead skin cells will oxidase in contact with the air and will turn brown so that’s what we call a black-head.
- If the pores are closed with the dead-skin layer (stratum corneum) this oxidation process will not take place so we will have a white -head.
- If there is an excess sebum production but the pores are open we will get an oily appearance of the skin and probably some small papules, some black-heads, but not major papules or pimples, because P. acnés bacterias don´t like the oxygen! They are anaerobic bacterias that develop only in a closed, anaerobic environment.
- If we have a closed pore and also sebum overproduction for sure P acnés will multiply also and thus the inflammation and white blood cells trying to stop the bacterial proliferation will end up as a papule or pustule!
Why we get acne?
Acne can be triggered by various factors and causes both internal and external and its really important to pin-point those causes in order to treat it correctly.
- Internal factor: hormonal imbalance – specifically the presence of androgen hormones – as it happens in puberty, is the most common cause of acne, but we can actually have different forms of acne in any stage of life. For example even newborns can get a form of acne due to the presence of progesterone hormones passed from the mummy’s body before birth or mature womens can develop different forms of acne due to hormonal related afections – like polycystic ovarian syndrome or menopause!
- Another internal factor can be the use of different medication that can influence sebum production – like contraceptives, corticosteroids, imunosupresors; or affect your skin microbiome – like some antibiotics – an equilibrated skin flora is actually preventing bacterial proliferation.
- Although there is still a debate if there are certain foods that might trigger acne, eating habits and lifestyle can influence the evolution of acne! All the foods that might stimulate bacterial multiplication and trigger inflammation might aggravate acne – like sugar, gluten, milk derived food, and on the contrary, an antioxidant rich diet based on fresh fruits and vegetables will help the skin as well!
- External factors are linked to impurities that might clog the pores and cause an accumulation of sebum or damaged skin barrier function that can lead to irritated skin conditions like rosacea or sun allergies.
- Also the air and water pollution might complicate a skin prone to acne, especially in busy urban areas, or the activities that implies dust, swet, heat, any extreme conditions will aggravate acne. On the other hand ultraviolet rays from the sun in this case can improve acnee because of the antibacterial effect!
- Another important external factor is skin care: we have to use the right products for our skin needs, we can actually develop different forms of acne because we use excessive make up products and we don’t cleanse and exfoliate enough or on the contrary, we over-do it and we complicate the skin condition due to the use of harsh or just inappropriate products for our skin!
How can we treat acne?
- First step in treating acne is to identify what caused it and what are the factors that might influence its evolution.
- Second step is to get a thorough skin analysis and a professional skin care routine that is meeting your skin type and address the acne problem correctly!
- Third step is to treat both the cause and the symptoms of acne at the skin level in order to keep it under control, help the skin to heal faster, and minimize the PIH – Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation and scarring.
At Glow Beauty we meet all these steps! After the skin analysis we give you full recommendations regarding skin care, life habits that might influence the skin condition, and we design a program to treat acne with the best aesthetic procedures.
For example, in case of inflammatory acne with papules and pustules we recommend starting with IPL treatments that will reduce bacterial activity combined with progressive chemical peels that will reduce sebum production and also LED Phototerapy with Blue and Green light (antibacterial, anti inflammatory light spectrum).
If the main cause of acne is clogged pores and mainly we have white and black comedones on the skin, we can choose the procedures that exfoliate and cleanse the pores like Hydralift: hidrafacial and microdermoabrasion, that uses chemical exfoliating solutions of mandelic and salicylic acid but also mechanical exfoliation with diamond tips. If needed we can also use LED Phototherapy at the end of the treatment.
When we are dealing with very light forms of acne we can personalize a Dermalogica facial adding the ultrasound spatula for a light exfoliation and cleaning, High-frequency to sterilize the skin and help the healing process and again the LED Phototherapy that calms the skin .
Acne can leave the skin with a longer term damage like PIH – the red spots that remains on the skin for months sometimes – because the deep level of the inflammatory process, also different types of scars that sometimes remain forever on the skin surface, so for these post acne skin problems we have solutions that boost the skin renewal process: Biologique Recherche Micropuncture especially for scars, IPL treatment and chemical peels for hyperpigmentation or for deeper scars and spots Sublative fractional microneedle radiofrequency for a complete skin resurfacing.
So now that you have an idea of What is acne, Why acne appears and How you can treat acne, you also understand that is very important to get a professional opinion, advise and treatment! Our skin specialists in Glow Beauty Puerto Banus can help you go through the process of treating and eliminating any sign of acne! We also count on the best professional brands that have solutions for every skin concern: Dermalogica and Biologique Recherche.
Don’t let this skin condition affect your life and treat it as soon as possible! We are here for you.
