Topical treatments are those used on the surface of the skin.  By helping to keep pores open, eliminating excess dirt and oil, and getting rid of unwanted bacteria, these may do the trick.  There are other medications that can be taken orally to help eliminate excess oils by keeping the body from producing it, along with various other medical remedies that help treat acne.  Before you can treat it, however, you need to understand what is causing it.

Hormones can play a big part in causing acne. In adolescence, the changes the body goes through can cause constant breakouts, while in adult years, bodily changes, such as premenstrual and pre menopausal episodes, can cause breakouts to continue.

The body can then produce more oil, which can block pores and cause breakouts.  Using products that help eliminate or control oil may be useful in curing acne with this cause.

Some foods, such as chocolate and sugar can cause acne. While this is commonly disputed and often thought to be a myth, it is unclear whether these foods are unable to actually cause acne.

Stress can also be a factor to the presence of acne. When you are stressed, the body releases certain hormones and chemicals which can produce toxicities that cause acne. Try to eliminate stress by staying away from stressful situations.

Environment can influence acne, as well as lifestyle. The products you use can also effect your acne. If you are not using the proper products to counteract acne, you may see an increase in breakouts. It is also important to keep the skin properly hydrated and moisturized. This will help you have healthier skin.

Clogged pores happen due to old skin cells that are still on the skin. Whether someone is not using a mild scrub to eliminate the excess skin cells, or the subject has Retention Hyperkeratosis where your skin cells replicate very fast, the outcome is the same. With these extra skin cells on your face, and then the mixture of sebum (oil), it causes a sticky mixture that blocks your pores up. This gets stuck in the hair follicles, and before you know it, your pores are clogged. This is how the acne forms.

In this hair follicle, this sticky mixture of cells and sebum is now stuck in place. Oxygen is trying to get down to the opening of the hair follicle, but can’t reach it. This is how the acne bacteria form. Now you have a hair follicle with bacteria growing, no oxygen can get through, and next thing you know you start to have inflammation. The pimple is forming, and pushes against the hair follicle. At the point of the hair follicle wall breaking, these bacteria spill into the skin around it. Pus starts to fill up around the hair follicle, and a pimple is now a small infection. It presents itself as a red irritation, and as it gradually fills up with pus, becomes a whitehead. Cystic acne is a deeper infection.

Many times skin care products or cosmetics can cause acne. Some products have fatty ingredients which can clog pores and cause dead skin cells to stick also. Look for non-comedogenic products for the best outcome. If you’re prone to acne breakouts, look for water based skin care products and cosmetics over oil based products.

Hormones are a big trigger when it comes to acne. Many women get hormonal acne right before they menstruate. Women tend to get more adult acne, while teen boys get more severe acne then most girls, since girls don�t have increasing testosterone like their counterparts do.

Male hormones called androgens also stimulate the oil glands in the skin. Combine androgens and testosterone, and guys have a volatile combination. Testosterone also stimulates the oil glands in the skin. As a boy becomes a teenager, the levels of these hormones are increasing, which can trigger and aggravate acne.

Food is a non-direct means of triggering acne. While a specific food does not cause acne, what can happen is that when we aren’t eating well, our bodies can be in a stressful state. In that stressful state your sebaceous glands produce more oil. There’s no hard evidence that food triggers acne, but it comes up often as a trigger. This is due to the body not being in a balanced state when we don’t eat healthy.

Stress is another trigger that can aggravate acne. When somebody is stressed out, they generate more sebum (oil). This extra sebum on the skin acts like glue causing dead skin cells to stick to the skin and clog pores.

Finally, if there are things that are rubbing against your face, they can be causing residual dirt to be left on your skin. It’s very important to make sure you wash off any residual dirt or debris each day. Be sure to wash your face before going to sleep each night.

When the hair follicles are blocked by oil or dead skin cells, acne starts to develop. Each follicle is linked to a sebaceous gland. The substance that is produced by these glands is called sebum and has the role to oil the hair and the skin. If the quantity of sebum exceeds the normal limits or if dead skin cells are produced excessively, the hair follicle gets blocked and a soft plug is created.

A bulged hair follicle leads to a whitehead, while a darken plug turns into a blackhead. Infection or inflammation of the blocked hair follicles precedes the appearance of the pimples.

Hormonal changes, bacteria, heredity and several drugs seem to affect the overproduction of sebum. However, the specific cause has not been discovered yet, but studies are still conducted in this direction.

It is a common belief that the food plays a main role in the appearance and the development of acne. In fact, the diets do not affect the acne that much. More than that, it is important to know that acne is not provoked by dirt. On the other hand, scrubbing the skin may lead to irritations that cause the acne to become worse.

While the hereditary factors or the hormonal changes that lead to acne cannot be influenced, other factors can be controlled in order to prevent this skin problem

Looking for cosmetics of a higher quality is surely a way to prevent acne problem from appearing. Also, replacing the backpacks with messenger bags, for example, is yet another way of making sure that acne is kept at distance. The cell phones and any other items that cause pressure when kept in the pocket should be placed in the bag, instead. This way, friction and pressure are relieved and the risk of developing acne decreases considerably. However, when acne is transmitted in the family from one generation to another generation, people cannot do much to stop it. It is best to look for medical advice and to follow a treatment that is based on topical creams and lotions.