Acne is the most common skin disorder in the United Sates. Today, 17 million Americans suffer form Acne. This common skin disorder is characterized by blackheads, spots and pimples. The more severe forms have painful, blind cysts, inflammation and infection. In these severe cases, Acne eruptions go deep into the skin and cause scarring that remains even when the active eruptions are healed. Per centimeter of skin, most of your body’s skin has about 100 oil glands. However, on your face and other parts of the body (chest, back, upper arms, and shoulders) you have two to four times this number. These are the areas most prone to Acne. Acne symptoms usually start in puberty when an increase in the sex hormone androgen occurs, affects more than 80% of adolescents, and lasts until the hormone activity settles down in the late teens or early twenties. Severe cases of Acne, however, can continue well into adulthood. Acne can also recur in later life when stress or other events, such as pregnancy which raises hormone levels.

One of the most common misconceptions about Acne is that it’s caused by dirt. It’s not! Acne most likely results from a combination of hormonal events and the interaction of skin oiliness, bacteria buildup, and blocked hair follicles. Acne begins with excess oil (sebum) production. Sebum is normally produced to protect the skin and keep it moist and supple; but when there is too much sebum, the skin becomes excessively oily and the pores block up. It is thought that hormone activity is the trigger for this. Deep within each follicle, your sebaceous glands are working to produce sebum. As your skin renews itself, the old cells die, mix with your skin’s natural oils, and are sloughed off. Under normal circumstances, these cells are shed gradually, making room for fresh new skin. But sloughing is different for everyone. Uneven shedding causes dead ells to become sticky and clump together, forming a lug or "comedo". This plug traps oil and bacteria inside the follicle, which begins to swell as your skin continues its normal oil production. Your body then attacks the bacteria-as it would any “foreign substance” with a swarm of white blood cells. This culminates in a pimple. This whole process can take 2-3 weeks. For years it was believed that diet was a major contributor to the development of Acne. Dermatologists should routinely warn patients to avoid "trigger" foods such as chocolate. More recently however, research-based medicine has downplayed diet as any sort of significant factor in Acne. This makes a current study published by L. Cordain et al in the Archives of Dermatology. 2002; 138 (12): 1584-1590 all the more interesting. In this study Cordain and his colleagues resented intriguing observation that Acne is virtually on-existent in the 2 non-westernized populations: the Kitavan Islanders of Papua New Guinea and the Ache Hunter-Gatherers of Paraguay. Both populations have in common a relative lack of Western influence, subsisting on low fat and low-glycemic-load diets (e.g., fruits, vegetables, fish, wild game). Obviously the debate on the effects food has on Acne is not over.

Acne treatments work by reducing skin oil (sebum) production, speeding up skin-cell turnover, and/or fighting bacterial infection. We recommend keeping to a simple skin care routine of twice daily face washing with a gentle face cleanser: Washing more often may actually aggravate Acne. Over the counter topicals include salicylic acid washes, Benzoyl Peroxide gels or products with Tea Tree Oil. Tea Tree Oil can have disinfecting properties that have been shown to be effective against the bacteria that cause blemishes. Studies have shown that both tea tree oil and Benzoyl peroxide are effective in reducing the number of blemishes with Tea Tree Oil having somewhat less irritating side effects. Don’t pick at the pimples, squeeze them, or apply heat to them. Besides making them worse, you could also spread infection this way.