What Causes Acne?

By Love Gerald

What is acne?
Acne is a skin condition that causes spots. Acne usually affects the skin of the face, back, neck, shoulders and chest. 85% of teenagers are affected by acne. Acne equally affects all people regardless of skin colour.
Skin is the largest organ on the body and has the largest surface area and weight accounting for 15 percent of the body weight. On average skin on adults has a surface area of 1.5 - 2.0 square meters (8 - 10.8 square feet). The skin is taken for granted by most people. It is responsible for body temperature regulation, sensation, evaporation control, water resistance and act as a storage centre for lipids and water.

Skin composition
Skin consist of two distinctive layers namely the epidermis and the dermis.

The Epidermis
The epidermis is the outer most layer of the skin which forms the waterproof protective layer all over the body. It contains no blood vessels. It consists of two distinctive layers - the malpighian and the cornified layer.

Malpighian layer
It is responsible for the production of all the cells in the epidermis. Cells in this layer are nourished by diffusion from the dermis as there are no blood vessels in the epidermis. Cells are constantly being produced by a process called mitosis. As older cells move up they slowly die due to isolation from their blood source. Their shape and composition changes and they are filled by a protein (which keeps the skin hydrated by preventing evaporation) called keratin.

Cornified layer
This layer is filled with these dead cells which protects the living layer underneath. It contains about 25-30 layers of dead cells. Some of the cells in the epidermis carry a dark pigment called melanin which protects us from the sun's harmful ultra-violet rays by absorbing them. A large dose of ultra-violet rays can alter the DNA in the cells causing them to die or in worst cases leads to different forms of cancer.

The Dermis
The dermis is the layer of skin which is made up of blood capillaries, sweat glands, hair follicles, hair muscles, sebaceous glands, nerve endings and elastic fibres which give the skin its stretching ability. This ability is lost with age resulting in wrinkles.
Blood capillaries are responsible for nourishing cells. Sweat glands are responsible for regulating the body temperature. Sebaceous glands are responsible for producing oil (sebum) which helps in keeping the skin and hair lubricated.

What causes acne?
There is bacterium which normally live harmlessly on the skin but if conditions are right, it finds its way into the skin and feeds off sebum (an oil produced by sebaceous glands in the dermis) and produce substances that triggers the immune system to respond. This inflames the skin creating acne. If cases are severe cysts develop and rupture causing scars.

Article Source: http://interpret.zar.vg

About The Author
Love Gerald writes based on his research and experience on acne prone skin care and writes within his online acne treatment website www.acnesniper.com