Here's a good question to ask: What causes pimples? Unfortunately science has yet to give us a concrete answer as far as what causes acne, but we have a very good idea of how they form.

It all starts with the sebaceous glands, which secretes oil that forms pimples. The size of the glands vary from each person.

You've probably heard of someone mentioning "large pores." Well, this is what they're talking about. What's interesting is that these sebaceous glands tend to enlarge at the time puberty sets in, which would help explain why teens seem to struggle with acne the most.

While everyone has sebaceous glands that are busily excreting oil, some of us have more oil than others. This can be due to a lot of things, such as genetics (if your parents had bad acne, odds are you'll have bad acne too), hormonal changes (triggered by pregnancy, for example), environmental factors, stress, and even what you eat. Thankfully, there's no evidence that chocolate causes acne!

When oil gets trapped in follicles or the glands, it causes pimples. What kind of oil? It could be the oil (sebum) produced by your sebaceous glands, but it could also be the oil and dirt from your hands. It could even be oil from soap, makeup, and even cooking oil. Ew.

We can also place some blame on testosterone, a hormone you can find in both men and women; it can cause sebum to be produced in excess. And let's not forget about dead skin cells; when they don't slough off, they can work their way down into hair follicles and clog them up. The result: Acne!

A build-up of oil in the hair follicles causes the types of acne known as blackheads and whiteheads. Red acne spots form when Propionibacterium (a bacteria) grows in the hair follicles. Picking at or popping this kind of pimple can spread the bacteria and create bigger problems.

Inflammatory acne appears under the skin these are cysts that may never rise to the surface, but they can spread and cause long-term scarring.

So, what it comes down to is that no one thing is the cause of acne. Although there are a lot of factors as to what causes pimples, it usually comes down to hormones and genetic factors.

You don't have to be an acne victim, though. There are lots of things you can do to take care of your skin and control the problem.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

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