What causes acne and what are the symptoms of acne

Acne , to put it simply, is the common pimples we see, also known as acne, pimples, etc. It is mainly a chronic inflammatory skin symptom caused by blockage of hair follicles and sebaceous glands. It is one of the most common diseases in cosmetic dermatology.

It usually occurs on the forehead, cheeks, chin, neck, chest, back, shoulders and upper arms.

Internal causes:

1. Excessive oil secretion, endocrine disorders, and a relative increase in male hormones stimulate sebaceous gland hyperplasia.

2. Keratinization and blockage of the sebaceous gland ducts of the hair follicles. The hair follicles are a plumbing system. Once there is a problem, inflammation will occur and acne will occur.

3. After the hair follicle cells are over-keratinized, they are prone to blockage of the hair follicles. The cells that shed sebum cannot be excreted normally and thus accumulate at the opening of the hair follicles, forming fatty acid. This is the common whitehead acne we see.

4. Propionibacterium acnes proliferation. The esterase of Propionibacterium acnes breaks down triglycerides to produce free fatty acids, which stimulate inflammatory reactions in the hair follicles and surrounding areas, resulting in acne such as papules and pustules.

5. Various cytokines are involved in the inflammatory response. Propionibacterium acnes can activate the inflammatory response and aggravate the redness and swelling of inflammatory acne.

External factors:

1. Endocrine disorders and menstrual period are the main causes of acne in women. Excessive oil secretion causes blockage of the sebaceous gland ducts of the hair follicles, coupled with bacterial infection, which aggravates the inflammatory nature of acne. If acne breaks out on your chin and temples, you should drink more water, pay attention to your body's metabolism, and regulate your endocrine system appropriately.

2. Large pores, oily skin, excessive sebum secretion, and long-term use of inferior cosmetics and skin care products will irritate the skin for a long time, causing skin damage and thus inducing acne.

3. Unreasonable diet, staying up late, overtime, insufficient sleep, poor mental state and other eating and living habits can cause the occurrence of acne.

4. Not paying attention to facial cleansing, not removing makeup and washing the face thoroughly, and using inferior skin care products are external factors that induce the formation of acne.

In the early stage, non-inflammatory symptoms such as whiteheads and blackheads are often present:

1. Closed comedones: commonly known as whiteheads, they are not red or painful, the size of rice grains, and are more common.

2. Open comedones: commonly known as blackheads, they generally cause enlarged pores, rough skin and other related skin problems.

3. Nodular acne: The inflamed area is the sebaceous glands between the dermis and the epidermis. The infection is relatively deep, usually red, without whiteheads, and is very likely to leave scars.

4. Papular acne: Generally, the initial symptoms are redness, which will soon turn into pus or white heads. When squeezed out, pus and blood will appear. Some papules will be infected again and evolve into papular pustules, which can easily form depressed scars.

5. Cystic acne: It is generally transformed from nodular acne and tends to leave larger scars.

6. Pustular acne: It mainly evolves from papular acne and usually leaves more obvious scars.