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Friday, August 05, 2011

The Relation between Sebum And Acne

Acne happens mostly during adolescence and often continues into adulthood. When your younger acne is usually caused by an increase in testosterone and occurs to both girls and boys during puberty. Normally acne diminishes over time and usually disappears. At the very least it decreases after reaching your early twenties. There is however, no way of knowing how long it will take to disappear entirely. For some people, this condition may carry on into their thirties, forties and maybe beyond.

Acne is the result of blockages in the follicles. Blockage occurs because Sebum is produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin. Sebum is an oily fatty substance. Sebum comes out of the glands in the skin thus causing a coating to the hair follicles. Through the pore of the hair follicle sebum reaches the surface of the skin. There it mixes with other lipids and sweat and forms a coating on the skin. This coating is called acid mantle. Acid mantle protects the skin against bacteria and keeps the skin moist. It also reduces natural water loss from the skin.

During adolescence Sebum production increases during the time of puberty. That is why most acne occur during these time periods. Production usually decreases with time and age for both men and women. In women, it is substantially reduced after menopause. During adulthood the production is less for females than men.

People with oily skin are more prone to these types of conditions because the sebaceous glands produce more oils than normal causing their skin to by of the type "Oily Skin". This over production of oil only increase bacteria because the have more to feed on. This increases the chances of blockage to the pores. Also while in it's self sebum has no odour, the accumulation of bacteria does create an odour. Using antibacterial mild soaps can help with this.

There are many kind of remedies to reduce these conditions. Some more proven than other. Some remedies call for internal medications like hormone control pills and others are topical usage of creams and cleansers. But by all means consulting a physician's or dermatologist's advice would be wiser before committing to any procedure.

One method of oral treatment is Accutane (isotretinoin). It works, in part, by shrinking the sebaceous glands causing less oil production. It's not something to be taken lightly, there are many safety issues. Women with over productive sebaceous glands can also consider some forms of birth control pills. These work by helping to regulate the effect of testosterone and similar hormones.

One method of topical treatment is the use of Benzoyl peroxide which is very popular. It unclogs the closed pores, Reduces the infection causing bacteria and reduces inflammation.

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