causes of pimples
Causes of Pimples (and what is not a cause
of pimples)
Continued… Read
Part One of what causes pimples Here
As we have learned in part
one, the causes of pimples include the blockage of
hair follicles by improperly cleared dead skin
cells; followed by swelling as over-produced sebum
packs up behind the blockage; subsequent bacterial
infection; and finally puss created by our white cells as they
try to fight the infection. That’s how you get a pimple. Being
“dirty” and having poor hygiene is not a cause of
pimples. Pores are blocked from the inside, not the
outside. All the scrubbing in the world won’t help and will
probably make things worse. If you want to find out how
to take care of your skin to minimize your acne,
read my skin care tips
article here.
READ MY REVIEWS OF THE TOP-RATED
ACNE TREATMENTS HERE!
In Part One we talked about the
problem of targeting bacteria and why that was a waste of
time for all but the mildest acne sufferer. The other
traditional treatment method, and one which is more effective
in my opinion, is targeting the overproduction of sebum.
Even though the sebum itself does not cause pimples, the
build-up of sebum behind the plug of dead skin cells causes the
follicle to swell and then bacteria feed on the sebum and make
the problem worse. Reducing sebum production has been
shown to be a very effective weapon against acne. Accutane is
the best known drug used to reduce the production of sebum and
is hailed by the medical profession (and many former acne
sufferers) as a miracle drug. I think that Accutane has its
place in the treatment of serious acne that fails to respond to
other treatments, but I think it should be used as a “last
resort” due to the many serious side effects that
come with using such a powerful drug. And those side
effects are serious. Fair warning. 
After failing to clear my acne
for years with every antibiotic under the sun, I took Accutane.
Although I was prepared for some of the side effects and had my
blood tested regularly to make sure my liver wasn’t harmed, my
biggest disappointment was that my acne actually got worse for
six months and it took an entire year for my face to be
completely clear. I also had to endure extremely dry
chapped skin on my face and especially my lips. It really
hurt my social life as i did everything I could to avoid going
out in public. For six months!
I was in college and if I had
known I would have worse skin for six months I probably would
not have taken Accutane. At that time there were no alternative
treatments available, but now that there are some alternatives which many
find effective and quick, I would try those before going with a
harsh treatment like Accutane. If you can hibernate for six
months and everything else has failed… Accutane may be for
you. I won’t recommend it, however, because the risks are
serious and you should do your own research. I still get
the occasional pimple but not nearly as frequently as I did
before my Accutane treatment. Usually only when I am
coming down with a cold or extremely stressed out. What? Does
that mean that getting sick and stressed out is one of the
causes of pimples? Yes, I am saying that. But why? The key is
that stress, getting sick and even your diet can affect the
real root cause of acne – hormones.
When we discussed the problem
of faulty clearing of dead skin cells in hair follicles
(part one), we discussed
how this problem was related to hormone imbalance. More
specifically to the production of androgen
hormones. Hormones are certainly influenced by diet,
stress and many other factors.
The point is, while there is
no direct cause/effect when it comes to food, what we eat
certainly affects the processes that cause
acne. Correcting those processes has helped some people to beat
pimples at the source. It’s this “blind spot” in medicine
that opens the doors to other acne fighting methods that
seem to work better than traditional treatments by getting
to the root of the problem instead of focussing so narrowly on
the hair follicle itself. The bottom line is if you notice that
you get a breakout after you’ve been gorging on certain foods
(burgers and fries?) try cutting them out of your
diet!
