This is the most common form of acne, can range in severity from mild to relatively serious, and effect people of all ages. It is most commonly seen in teenagers at the time of puberty, when the body and hormonal changes that they are going through create imbalances that are cause of acne.
However, it is important to distinguish between having a few spots or pimples and acne vulgaris. The former is the kind of thing that will happen to everybody from time to time through out their lives as result of the general stresses and strains of everyday life, whereas the latter can involve several different types of sores, lesions or skin blemishes:
. Whiteheads: closed and clogged skin pores
. Blackheads: clogged pores that are open to dirt at the skin surface
. Papules: reddened areas that are prominent and raised above the skin surface
. Pustules: pimples or small bumps on the surface of the skin that generally contain pus
In more severe cases of acne vulgaris, the sufferer may develop cysts or nodules that are both painful and filled with pus. These are the kind of lesions that most commonly cause life time scarring if not treated with care and attention.
What and Why?
Acne occurs when the hair follicles of the upper trunk and head become blocked at the same time as producing excess oil from the sebaceous glands.
The blockage is most commonly caused by a combination of dead skin cells that have not been purged from the body efficiently, and dirt. This combined with the oil, blocks the pores (the hair follicles opening) at the surface of the skin and then bacteria attack the trapped oil mass, forming a mass that eventually results in the pore becoming blocked. This is known as a comedone (a blackhead, which is the most common acne related lesion, is a microcomedone).
if the blokage stays below the skin, it becomes a whitehead, while if it erupts onto the surface of the skin, it cause a blackead.
As most people will know, the most common time in a person’s life for acne to attack is in the teens when the onset of puberty leads to an over-production of oils from the sebaceous glands. allied to over-active skin cell production. However, acne can also result from menstruation or the onset of the menopause in woman.
Despite the fact that all teenagers pass through this stage of their life, not all of them will develop acne. One of the primary reasons that acne attacks certain people and not others is believed to be hereditary.
if the parents suffered from acne, then the chances that the son or daughter will do too, are much higher, and there is not a great deal that you can do about it. There are however many things that you can do to lessen the adverse effects of acne, and possibly remove the acne problem altogether.
These should definitely be tried before resorting to drugs like Accutane as a final resort, simply because they are natural and have no unpleasant and detrimental side effects.