Find Out How to Avoid Teen Acne by Taking Preventive Measures

It’s an exceptional young person who does not get acne during their adolescent years. A major cause of acne during the teen years is hormonal changes. To reduce acne you should know why you get acne.

Acne results from plugged pores. Glands below the skin produce an oil called sebum. This sebum rises to the skin’s surface through pores.

Your skin sheds old cells and replaces them with new cells. A difficulty occurs when excessive oil causes these old skin cells clump together and plug up the pores.

These accumulating masses of oily dead skin particles finally begin blocking or plugging up the pores a couple of weeks before they are large enough for you to detect. The sebum which is supposed to reach the surface of your skin will now be blocked and starts to amass inside the pores and glands under your skin. An infection begins as bacteria within the collection of old skin cells and oily sebum start to multiply.

As the sebum accumulates and the infection gets worse you start to see changes to your skin. Bumps start to enlarge until they become blackheads and whiteheads you know as pimples. You’ve got acne.

Acne is mainly prevalent during the teenage years. Why is that?

As young people begin to mature the body starts producing new hormones. Both male and female adolescents produce the hormone testosterone. This in turn causes more of the oily sebum to be produced under the skin. It’s the additional oily sebum that make particle of dead skin clump together within the pores to block the free flow of sebum.

After a few years, in the early twenties, the body can better regulate the reaction testosterone has on the glands so less sebum is created. Less sebum results in less clumping of old cells and less potential for acne. While adults can still get acne, their skin is drier and less elastic. As a result of this, adult acne treatment differs from that used for young people.

What can teenagers do the cut back on the incidence of acne?

Keep the skin free from surplus oils and remove as many of the dead skin cells as possible. You will have to cleanse the skin at least twice a day. Many people advocate a gentle, non-alkaline cleanser instead of normal soaps.

Choose your food cautiously. If you eat something that causes your face to feel like it is oozing oils, you should recognize that what you just ate is not going to help keep you acne free. Eat unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables, meats, whole grain breads, as well as dairy products. Avoid manufactured foods with lots of sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

Stress can produce added hormones that worsen acne. So, avoid stressful situations and work off your stress with exercise.

Do not use oily or greasy makeup or skin creams. Adding oils to your skin only reinforces the effect of natural sebum and further helps block the pores.

Keep the skin free of surplus oils and you will meaningfully cut back on the incidence of ache.