Causes of Acne Vulgaris
If your skin is showing some acne vulgaris symptoms then it maybe be due to one or more of the following causes.
Blocked Pores
The build up sebum, secreted from the sebaceous gland, is the cause of acne vulgaris. The sebum builds up because the skins pore is blocked and the sebum cannot continue it natural flow from the sebaceous gland to the surface of the skin. Acne will commonly take the form of backheads or whiteheads in this situation. Typically the reasons the pores become blocked are due to a build up of dead skin tissue in or around the pore, causing a build up of sebum.
Bacterial Infection
Bacteria are naturally occurring within the pores of your skin. A blocked skin pore, filled with sebum, is an idea place for these bacteria to multiply as they feed off the sebum. The growing number of bacteria cause to pore to swell and become painful.
Over-active Sebaceous Gland
Should the sebaceous gland become over-active, the skin pores can become overwhelmed by the amount of sebum that needs to be ejected through the skin pore. In some situations, due to increased levels of sebum the pore opening can become narrower making it difficult for the sebum to escape. The pore ultimately becomes blocked and a pimple forms. The sebaceous gland can become over-active as a reaction to increased levels of the male sex hormones (androgens). Common to both males and females, these hormones stimulate the gland into producing too much sebum. In some people, the sebaceous glands are extremely sensitive to androgens. Mostly men are affected and get acne so severe that they ultimately need medical treatment. Puberty and menstrual periods also give rise to outbreaks of acne and an over-excited sebaceous gland. Again, the likely causes are an over-stimulated sebaceous gland caused by unusual levels of hormones.