There are four major causes of acne that we need to target at least two out of the four causes of acne to be able to control acne.
Acne doesn’t have a cure in most cases. We can control and treat acne but not cure acne lesions because hormones are a definitive cause of acne for both juvenile or acne vulgaris and adult or female-only acne.
Here is the four major cause of acne:
- Excessive sebum production that is secondary to hormonal surge during adolescence years and female hormonal fluctuation around age 35 years old
- Overgrowth of microbes, notably p-acne, lives deep inside the follicles where there is no air. P-acne microbes eat sebum and release substances that damage and lyse the follicular wall if it doesn’t evacuate from the follicles. Clogged pores or follicles are the best conditions for the p-acne microbes to replicate and grow out of control.
- Inflammation secondary to overgrowth of p-acne, pressure, cosmetics, and makeup is another major contributor to developing acne.
- Hormonal imbalances like testosterone surge during puberty and changing the proportion of female testosterone to estrogen after age 35 are the core of all kinds of acne.
So our acne treatment should target sebum production or consistency, control p-acne microbes overgrowth, or control hormonal imbalance.
Acne
- AHA, Alpha Hydroxy Acid
- BHA, Salicylic acid
- Benzoyl Peroxide
- Azelaic acid
- Tea tree oil
- Retinol, adapalene
- Sulfur
- Hydrocolloid
- Clay mask
Fungal Acne
- zinc pyrithione
- sulfur
- ketoconazole
- honey