The Complete Guide to Acne

Acne Causes, Treatments, and Covering It Up!

Whether you’re a teenager wondering when the acne on your face will disappear, or an adult wondering why you never “grew out” of acne like all your friends, these unsightly bumps can be a big pain. At their least worrisome, acne bumps just aren’t very pretty – but at their worst, acne bumps can be very painful and impact your overall health. In this guide to acne, we’ll cover everything you need to know about acne – from acne causes, and how you may be able to prevent it, to treating it and covering it up.

Facts About Acne

Acne is actually considered a disease, believe it or not, and it’s the eighth most common disease in the entire world. More than 50 million people in America alone suffer from acne, and yet many people don’t really know what’s behind this problem. There are four main acne causes:

• Sebum production: The skin produces an oil called sebum, which is meant to keep the skin hydrated. If you don’t have sebum, your skin will crack and crumble! However, sometimes, the sebaceous glands make too much sebum, which can then trigger the immune system. Essentially, the body says, “Whoa, this is too much!” and the response is to become inflamed – in other words, to form pimples.
• Excess bacteria: All humans have bacteria on their skin. Usually, these bacteria are friendly. They protect us from other bacteria and keep us healthy. But when there is too much of it, it can clog up hair follicles and start feeding on sebum production. This leads the body to produce more sebum, which then causes that inflammatory reaction.
• Dead skin cells: Some people’s skin does not shed dead cells properly, causing an excess to clog up hair follicles. This leads to an inflammatory response as the body detects something that shouldn’t be in the hair follicles.
• Inflammation due to foreign particles: Finally, if anything that shouldn’t be in the follicles gets in there, like dirt, bacteria, or anything else, the body may have an inflammatory response.

As you can see, acne is caused by the body’s own instinct to protect itself from something. Unfortunately, that means that you can’t “cure” acne – to cure it, would mean to stop the body from doing something it does by design. Instead, there are ways to help prevent the follicles from becoming clogged, and ways to treat the inflammation once it has occurred.

Related: Exfoliation 101

Acne Causes – Why Do Breakouts Happen?

You may be looking at this list of acne causes, and wondering what those things have to do with what we normally hear as the reason for acne – such as hormones during puberty, stress, or eating poorly.

Hormones do play a part in breakouts because the hormones that go into “overdrive” during puberty help to increase sebum production. Additionally, stress can also start a chain reaction in which excess hormones are produced, which then encourage excess sebum, which then causes the inflammation that is visible acne.

So, yes, breakouts can be related to stress and hormones. Other things that can cause breakouts include:

• Certain moisturizing products that clog hair follicles
• Bacteria being spread across the face from too much washing
• Constantly touching your face, leaving oils and dirt from your hands behind
• Sweating profusely (and not washing your face after you do so)
• Hair products touching your face
• Your boyfriend’s beard products touching your face
• Dirty makeup brushes spreading bacteria on your face

As you can see, a lot of the problem is simply that the skin can be a little bit overzealous when things that aren’t as clean as they could be touch it. Simply washing your face regularly (but not too often!) can usually be the best preventative you need for these causes. Decreasing your stress, and making sure that hormone production stays level with medication, if necessary, can also help.

However, is acne caused by bad eating habits? This is a somewhat controversial idea in the beauty industry. There were several studies done that seemed to show no correlation at all between acne and eating sugary foods such as chocolate. However, these studies were performed in the 60s and 70s, and may have been based on flawed forms of research, according to a New York University doctorate candidate and author, Jennifer Burris. Researchers do now have some studies that back up Burris’ claims, and there may be proof that shows that dairy, sugar, and unhealthy fats can lead to excess sebum production.

Related: Considering a Gluten Free Diet? Get the Facts Here

The reason for this is that anything that contains sugar or refined carbohydrates (such as dairy, pasta, bread, sweets, and so on) can cause the insulin levels in the body to spike. When this happens, sebum production is increased, and that leads to the same cycle we’ve been discussing. So the trick isn’t necessarily to lower your chocolate intake – it’s to make sure your insulin isn’t spiked by eating things laden with sugar and refined carbs.

Another food-related problem that people with acne often see is when eating spicy foods, your skin may breakout. Why? Part of it could be that many spicy sauces actually contain sugar. However, another reason could be that what you are seeing is not an acne breakout, but rather a rash or other skin reaction to the spice.

One thing we do know for certain is that eating oily food isn’t likely to make your skin more oily. There is also no evidence that eating all vegetables and drinking only water will prevent acne breakouts. Hormones can fluctuate no matter what your diet.

When Should You Consider Medical Treatment for Acne?

Let’s say that you’ve kept your stress levels low, you’ve addressed any hormone changes with your doctor, and your diet is pretty healthy. Your skin care routine is pretty good, and you have made a few habit changes so you aren’t touching your face a lot. Are you still seeing breakouts?

It could be time to see a dermatologist. Acne can be treated medically, through prescription creams and other methods. Here are some good signs that you should consider visiting a dermatologist:

• Despite making changes in your routines, habits, and skin care routine, your acne is getting worse. Sometimes acne just does not respond to over-the-counter creams and treatments. If that is the case, only a prescription-strength treatment will treat the acne.
• If you have cystic acne, you likely need to go to a dermatologist. Acne that is very painful, is swollen and irritated but does not emerge from under the skin, or that produces any sort of liquid, is considered a severe form of acne, and should be treated. If not treated, this type of acne can cause scars.
• If your acne is impacting your self-esteem, see a dermatologist. There is no reason to live with acne if it impacts how you feel about yourself. There are many treatments that a dermatologist can offer to help you.

Related: Microneedling Might be Your Solution to Acne Scars

Myths About Acne

Myths abound about acne. A few of them, we’ve already debunked – for example, eating oily food doesn’t necessarily make your skin oilier. Here are some other myths about acne that you may be familiar with:

• Getting a tan can help acne go away – It’s true that sun exposure can help slightly reduce inflammation – but this is only a temporary relief. Over time, sun exposure can actually cause even larger pores, which can lead to more blackheads because the pores are more easily clogged. How does sun exposure do this? It breaks down the collagen that keeps the skin tight and firm, which is what makes pores smaller.
• Wearing makeup makes acne a lot worse – There are definitely some makeup products that you don’t want to use on your skin, because they are known to clog hair follicles. However, makeup that has ingredients that help absorb oils can actually improve the appearance of acne.
• Putting toothpaste on a pimple overnight will heal it – Yes, it’s true that toothpaste has alcohol and other ingredients that can help make a pimple go away overnight. However, what this is doing is just drying out the pimple – and all the skin around it. It will definitely cause irritation to the skin around the pimple. Just use an overnight acne treatment instead.
• Using moisturizer on your face can give you more pimples – Actually, the reverse is true. One of the reasons the skin produces too much sebum is that it thinks it needs more moisture. By keeping your face moisturized with a lightweight, non-oily face lotion, you’ll help calm down over-active sebaceous glands.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Salicylic Acid

• Getting dirty will give you pimples – This is false. The types of bacteria that cause pimples are already on your face. Having pimples does not mean your face is dirty. And yes, you can wash too much. Over-washing your face can spread the bacteria around and irritate the face.
• You should use hot water to make your pores open before you clean your face – Pores actually cannot open or close. There are no muscles that control the pores, which are required for movement. Heat doesn’t actually “open pores”, it just loosens up any clogged sebum in the pore so that it can be removed.
• Popping whiteheads is the best way to get rid of them – Actually, popping a whitehead so that you can squeeze out the excess sebum is not the best way to heal the whitehead. All you are doing is irritating the skin around it. Instead, use a medicated treatment or skin care product to chemically clean out the pore.

Covering Up Acne

Now that you know all about acne, you’re probably wondering how to cover it up while you let your treatments work. The problem with acne is that there are so many different types of it, and covering them up can require a different approach for each.

Related: Must Know Foundation Tips for Acne Prone Skin

For example, to cover a whitehead, you want to be extremely precise with concealer. Use a concealer that is very thick, almost like a putty, and place it just on the whitehead and the red area around it – not on the “good” skin around that! This just turns the whitehead into a bull’s eye. Pat the concealer onto just the whitehead, then set with a powder foundation that matches your skin – not a translucent powder.

For something that is very big and noticeable, like cystic acne, you have two options:

The first is to start with a cool compress to try to get the bump to calm down a little. Then, accept the fact that you will never totally hide it, and stay away from full-coverage foundations. This just makes the contrast between your “good skin” and your acne look even more pronounced. Instead, use lightweight products that will help create the most even wash of coverage over all your skin.

The other option may feel like a copout, but red carpet celebrities employ this trick all the time: Turn that bump into a beauty mark! Just use a bit of black or brown eyeliner and color it in. Set with a bit of powder and embrace your glamorous new accessory until the pimple is gone.

If the acne is dry and flaky, try carefully removing some of the flakes with tweezers before covering with concealer. If the acne is extremely red, try using a green-tinted primer before your concealer. You can also try using a pure white concealer first, then cover with a concealer that is your skin tone.

What Is the Best Treatment Product for You?

There are hundreds of treatment products out there that you can try. At the end of the day, the best one for you is the one that works, no matter what that may be. If you need a medicated cream from the dermatologist, or just an acne-clearing mask from the drugstore – if it works, it works! Now that you know the acne causes, and how it reacts to certain lifestyle choices, you’ll have a much easier time keeping your face clear and healthy!

More Great Acne Causes Resources:

When to See a Dermatologist for Your Acne

13 Surprising Things Causing Your Acne and Breakouts

10 THINGS TO TRY WHEN ACNE WON’T CLEAR