What Causes Acne In Kids And Teens

Acne, that dreaded teenage term, almost as part of the growing up process as kids pass the magical ten years and up into their teen's, will affect kids of both sexes with spots, pimples, blackheads, white heads, zits, and sometime deeper cysts on their face and neck. In the States alone, nearly 20 million kids are affected by acne at some point in their lives Small consolation of course, if a spot appears just before your first tentative date!

So - what is acne? Well, for such a common condition, many quack cures are around, and some of the can actually do more harm than good. So lets start by looking at what exactly acne is, and how it is formed. You may not realise it but everybody's skin consists of a matrix of tiny holes or pores. Out of each of these holes grows a hair follicle. Now nature, bless her, endowed each of these tiny hair follicles with a gland that secretes sebaceous oil. Oh great, now you know where all the grease comes from , but best of all, the production of this oil is not affected by what you eat, so you can still have your burger and fries with no regrets - just keep any extra grease away from your face.

However, in your kids and early teens, with all the changes going on in your body - of either sex - due to the growing up process, these little oil ducts start to get a bit over-excited, and pump far too much oil out. Now when this happens, a number of things can get out of control, and the pores can get clogged up with too much oil, dead skin cells, and this little mixture forms a perfect breeding ground for all of the different strains of bacteria that is all over your skin. Yuck!

As this little concoction grows, if the pore gets blocked, then all this grunge causes the skin to bulge and a 'white head' appears. If the pore blocks up, but doesn't seal, you will see the dark top of this stuff, which is known as a 'blackhead'. If the pore is sealed up, and so much stuff is produced that the skin lifts up a bit, then than causes a little red pimple. If this condition gets really bad, then the stuff gets deeper in the skin and can cause quite nasty looking and painful cysts.

So now you know a little bit more about what acne is, you can now understand what to try to do to reduce or even eliminate it. Bear in mind, that whatever you do you probably won't affect a cure overnight - probably weeks or month I am afraid.

Basically, skin hygiene is what its all about, coupled with a bit of common sense, but first of all, your skin is delicate, so don't, whatever you do, scrub you face. And secondly, do NOT pick or squeeze a zit, however tempting. You could cause infection, and could even cause a painful cyst to appear.

Always wash your face with soapy water morning and night, and use your fingers rather than a rough flannel.

With makeup and sun cream, try to go only for those that are not oil based, and last of all, do not think that exposure to lots of sun will cure acne - that can cause more damage in later years than you realise, so use the sun, but don't burn.