Acne

Blackheads, whiteheads ... As a teenager, acne often prevents seeing la vie en rose. But what are the causes of this skin condition that affects nearly 80% of young people at the first stirrings of love? Passing in review the three main culprits.

Acne is a disease affecting the hair follicle at the root of our hair. At its core are the sebaceous glands responsible for production sebum, Fat prevents drying of the skin. But during puberty, this well-oiled mechanism jammed!

Acne in three steps
The emergence of a button at the follicle is due to the conjunction of three events:

Excessive secretion of sebum in the follicle;
Obstruction of the follicle (for reasons as yet unknown);
Bacterial growth inside the follicle.
During puberty, the production of male sex hormones (androgens) leads to an excess of sebum in sebaceous glands. The excess sebum flows to the surface of the skin becomes oilier. But the channel is encumbered and the pore is blocked, is the appearance of black spot or comedo or microcysts white.



Cutting the skin


Subsequently, the development of inflammation within the follicles and infection of them by a bacterium, Propionibacterium acnes, causes buttons (papules, pustules and nodules).

Stress and heredity

Stress is accused of all evils, and it is sometimes accused of being responsible for the appearance of acne. We also know that stress can affect hormone levels. It could therefore influence the development of this skin disease. But according to the latest review to date, its role remains to this day the subject of controversy and it is singularly lacking in validated scientific studies on the subject.

Moreover, many studies2 note a significant number of patients of both sexes in the same family. Although genetic susceptibility has been suspected, no scientific evidence has been made to date.

 

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