How to know if your breakout is acne Your skin is beginning to resemble a 3-dimensional map. Raised, red lesions and pimples are spreading across your once-smooth face, chest and back. You've tried washing repeatedly through the day, but you're still experiencing breakouts.
Is this acne?
The First Sign
The first sign of acne is the appearance of comedones. Whiteheads and blackheads begin popping up. Some people begin noticing red cysts and nodules.
Acne is the most common skin disorder in the United States with nearly 40 million people currently experiencing the problem. Though it is most common among teenagers, adults and even infants can be afflicted.
When Acne Begins
Acne typically begins just after puberty, making itself known in the form of blackheads, whiteheads, pustules, inflamed bumps and cysts.
These lesions primarily flare-up on the face, chest and back though legs, arms and other areas are also fair game. Severity of the condition varies, and acne symptoms can mimic those of other conditions and diseases.
Look Out for Imposters
Because acne can mimic other skin conditions such as rosacea and allergic reactions, the best way to get an accurate diagnosis is to consult a dermatologist who can fully discuss the first steps toward effective acne treatment.
What Causes Acne?:During puberty, hormones called androgens drive the maturation process, causing the skin's oil glands, called sebaceous glands, to produce more oil or sebum.
Sebaceous glands are connected to the skin's hair follicles. Together, they are called pilosebaceous units. As hormones send the maturation process into overdrive during puberty, the lining of the hair follicle sheds more rapidly. The shed material mixes with the excess sebum being produced and plugs the follicles. As the sebaceous glands continue their sebum production, the plugged follicle swells with the backed up oil.
Additionally, a bacteria called P. acnes, normally present in the skin, experiences accelerated growth within the plugged hair follicle. This produces an irritating enzyme that causes further inflammation. This can result in the breaking down of the follicle wall which permits the irritating substances to create even more inflammation in surrounding tissue.
The result is the formation of acne lesions - blackheads, whiteheads, cysts and nodules also known as comedones.