Acne is an inflammatory condition of the sebaceous glands and is perhaps one of the most common skin conditions. Not for nothing that we want to give special attention to this, often persistent, skin condition. Besides the question What to do about Acne? we would also like to give you some more background information about the different forms of acne and the main causes.

Forms of acne

Acne can be subdivided in two ways, by age category and by what the acne manifests itself as (the clinical picture). 

Age category subdivision:

• Baby Acne (Acne Neonatorum).
• Teenage Acne (Acne Infantum)
• Acne at puberty (Acne Vulgaris)
• Acne after puberty (Acne Tarda)

Clinical subdivision:

• Comedones, also called blackheads (Acne Comedonicum). This is a build-up of sebum and horny cells that are not yet inflamed. Comedones come in two varieties:
  • Open Comedones, these are the familiar black dots where the skin is not closed off
  • Closed Comedones, where sebum accumulates in a closed channel. The sebum and horny cells can then be seen as a white mass through the skin.
• Papules, pustules and cysts, popularly called pustules. When a closed comedone ignites, papules and pustules develop. In papules, the inflammation is still in its early stages; in pustules, the inflammation is already extensive. Cysts, unlike papules and pustules, lie deeper in the skin; they form firm red to deep purple nodules.

The photo below further clarifies the distinction between the different stages.

What are the main causes of Acne?

Contrary to what many people think, acne is not caused by insufficient washing, certain foods, vitamin deficiencies, smoking or stress, however, these can trigger acne. The main cause of acne is hormonal changes, which is why adolescents in particular suffer from acne during puberty. But acne is not only a youth problem, it can also occur to a greater or lesser extent in older age, heredity can play a role in this.

Known causes of hormone changes are:

• Puberty
• In the early stages that girls start menstruating
• When using contraceptives
• When using medications (some steroids, anti-epileptics & antidepressants)
• Use of cosmetics can trigger acne, especially oily and greasy substances
• Heredity

What should you especially not do about acne?

Acne is a nasty, often persistent skin condition. By mishandling this skin condition, you often only make the problem worse and it becomes increasingly difficult to control. Below we give you some tips that you should definitely not do with acne;

• Avoid irritating the skin, do not wash, rub or massage intensively!
• Leave pimples alone, especially don't squeeze them. When squeezing pimples, you not only push the sebum out, but also deeper into the skin. The sebum thus gets outside the sebaceous gland and, in many cases, causes an inflammatory reaction. Result: the problem is only made worse.
• Do not use oily cosmetics, they can further aggravate acne. If you want to use cosmetics, which we quite understand, be well informed about which products are suitable. We will be happy to advise you.

What you can do against acne

Important to mention is the fact that acne can be a stubborn skin condition that you do not solve in a few days. It is therefore important to implement the tips below structurally and not to give up too quickly, only then will acne treatment be successful. 

Tip 1

Clean acne gently, most good skin care brands have specially developed cleansing products for acne. Avoid intensive cleansing, rubbing or massaging, this can aggravate acne.

Tip 2

Moisturize the skin adequately, avoid products that contain alcohol or other skin irritating ingredients. For example, use a good moisturizing lotion or serum (or both for best results).

Tip 3

Use a light exfoliating cleanser, this will help to calm the skin.

Tip 4

Use a good day cream tailored to acne skin. This is often characterized by the fact that it absorbs sebum from the skin and is completely paraben-free.

Tip 5

Continue your acne treatment even during your vacation. The sun often makes it seem a little better, but appearances can be deceiving. The sun has an anti-inflammatory effect, so the real red inflammations will indeed be reduced, but the sun causes more blackheads. After the vacations you often see that it suddenly gets worse. Not treating during the vacations is a NO-GO!

We hope to have given you more clarity about acne and what to do about acne with this blog. We think it is very important that you use the right skin care products to treat acne. In our webshop we have a number of brands that offer very good products in the fight against acne (IMAGE Skincare, hannah, Cenzaa & Mesoestetic). Any questions? We are happy to help & advise you. Please contact us at info@hetcosmeticahuis.nl