Acne

Most of us have faced pimple or acne breakouts at some point in our lives. According to a study, acne is the most common skin problem and affects around 200-300 million people between the ages of 12 and 25 years in India. In recent years, even older people have started experiencing breakouts due to stress and lifestyle. You may consider acne as a simple skin infection, but it is not. It occurs due to complex interaction of changing hormones, sebum and a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes. Since it is a serious skin concern, opting for home remedies like washing your face frequently, drinking lots of water etc. might not turn out to be effective. Hence, we suggest seeking professional help. The first step towards knowing about acne starts with understanding our skin. To keep our skin healthy and supple, our skin's sebaceous or oil producing glands produce sebum. Acne breakouts happen when oil and dead skin cells clog up our skin's pores, helping the bacteria to multiply and leading into acne breakouts. As the bacterium multiplies, our immune system reacts to it in the form of pus, redness, itchiness or pain. Most common acne prone area is your face. However, some people may experience this on other body areas like chest, arms, neck and back. To know how to prevent acne breakouts, visit our Skin And Hair Library

Your hormones, lifestyle, stress, heredity is what triggers acne and hence it is essential that you visit an expert dermatologist who will diagnose the right cause of your acne and prescribe the right treatment for best results. It is not just acne, there are other problems associated with it like pigmentation and scars. Even when acne is healed, it may leave behind ugly marks and scars. This happens when the skin does not heal properly leading to depressions or marks. Dark spots left behind after the acne heals is called Post-inflammatory-hyperpigmentation (PIH) and is a very common side-effect. It is caused due to increase in pigment production under your skin. These can be usually treated using chemical peels or advanced lasers which are generally safe. If you are suffering from acne, you should immediately seek professional help as acne can lead to permanent scarring, which might hide your skin's beauty. Learn more about Acne in our SKIN AND HAIR LIBRARY