Acne prone skin

Acne is one of the commonest nagging skin diseases. It attacks mainly face and back side. Most of us may have suffered from this pesky problem in some part of our life. The main reason for prolongation of acne is our lack of knowledge as to how to handle the problem. Let us discuss something about acne prone skin.

Acne is of two types, Acne vulgaris and Acne rosasea. Acne vulgaris is more commonly seen than the second one. Both of them are having their characteristic properties. Acne vulgaris mainly affects the young age group and the Acne rosasea targets the persons of middle age. It is a fact that the skin condition of both these groups are not common, the skin of younger ones has lot more firm owing to the abundance of fibrofatty tissue. There are much more sebaceous glands in the epidermal layer (the layer of the skin which is situated just below the upper thick layer).

Now let us have an idea of the skin conditions of Acne vulgaris –

Persons whose skin is oily in nature and those who are prone to sweating mostly suffer from Acne vulgaris. The principal etiology of this disease is the increase in the sebum production from the sebaceous glands, which are abundant in the epidermal layer of the skin. The secretion of sebum is much less during infancy. It is highly increased during the time of puberty, reaching its highest level during adulthood and then slowly decreasing with age.

The black heads and white heads form in the hair follicle due to retention of sebum. Retention is due to blockage of the follicular openings. The persons who are having oily skin tend to experience more of this blockage as oils jams the opening. Moreover, dust particles from the environment get adhered to this oil and are deposited. All of these cumulatively block the opening of the follicle. Persons who experience too much sweating are also prone to Acne vulgaris. The excessive sweating is called ‘Seborrhea’. This is a disease where there is hyper secretion of the sebaceous glands of the skin and the scalp. It causes the skin turn out to be extremely oily. Again, some hormones also take part in the release of sebum also. Among them, Androgens takes the leading role. Our diet rich in saturated fatty acids also jeopardizes the condition. Persons who are having thick skin are more acne prone. Thick layer of skin contains more sebaceous glands. This in turn leads to more available oil for the hair follicle.

You need to do something to counteract your oily skin. You can not change your skin type. But you can surely do the following –

Increase your daily water intake. You must take 2-2.5 liters of water everyday. Your diet should contain plenty of green leafy vegetables and fruits. Try to avoid junk foods as far as possible. It contains much oil. Do not shampoo your hair daily. Do not use any toiletries, which aggressively remove oil from your face. It will cause rebound production of oil. Wash your face 5-6 times daily. You must Pat dry with a clean cotton towel.

Now let us be familiar with the skin conditions of Acne rosasea –

It is mainly noticed in adults. People whose skin is generally flushes or blushes are extremely prone to Acne rosasea. Actually, it is an inflammatory condition of the facial skin. Classically, Acne rosasea affects middle aged women. Bright red colored papule erupts over face with surrounding flush and crowned by tiny pus forming areas characterizes this disease. Avoidance of sunlight, any kind of alcohol, hot spicy food is favorable.