Acne Treatment

Acne Treatment Info

Acne Products:

D'Arcy Original Drying Lotion Bye Bye Blemish Anti-Acne Serum 101E Acne Getaway Comodynes Dermatological Towels for Daily Hygiene

Can Acne Scars Be Removed?
Scars from acne can seem like double punishment - first you had to suffer through the pimples, now you have marks to remind you. Is there anything you can do?

Can I Prevent Acne?
Although there is no surefire way to prevent acne, there are several ways to help reduce the number and severity of your breakouts. Read this article to find out more.

Myths about Acne
You may be surprised that some of the things you've heard about acne - like what causes it and how to deal with it - actually aren't true. 

What is Acne?

Acne is a common chronic skin condition caused by inflammation of
oil-producing sebaceous glands. Acne usually begins between the ages of ten and thirteen and persists for five to ten years. Acne is most common on the
face, but can also occur on the back, shoulders, neck, chest, scalp, upper arms and legs. Acne develops when the skin cells don not shed properly - they stick together and plug up the pores. This blockage encourages oil called sebum and bacteria called acnes to build up in the skin pores, leading to inflammation.

A normal follicle looks like this:

For reasons no one completely understands, follicles, often called pores, sometimes get blocked. Sebum (oil) which normally drains to the surface gets blocked and bacteria begins to grow. Both whiteheads and blackheads start out as a "microcomedone". The picture below is a "microcomedone":

The result of a microcomedone can be one of two scenarios--a whitehead or a blackhead:

Whitehead:

When the trapped sebum and bacteria stay below the skin surface, a whitehead is formed.

Blackhead

A blackhead occurs when the trapped sebum and bacteria partially open to the surface and turn black due to melanin, the skin's pigment. Blackheads can last for a long time because the contents very slowly drain to the surface.

Either way, blackheads and whiteheads are filled with trapped sebum and bacteria. The treatment advice is the therefore the same for both whiteheads and blackheads.

More on other types of acne in the acne types page.

Who Gets Acne?