Prevention is better than cure and it is due to this fact that many people try to find out the causes of acne. They know that if they find out what causes acne, they shall be better prepared to take the prevention route rather than suffer the pains of getting the pock marks left by acne at a later stage. Before understanding what causes acne, we should know a bit more about our body. Our entire body, with the exception of zones like the lower lip, soles of the feet, palm, and the top of our feet consists of sebaceous gland, a hair follicle, and a hair.

All these together are known as a pilosebaceous unit. The maximum numbers of such units are found on our chest, upper neck, and on our face. Our skin along with our hair is moisturized by a substance called sebum which is released by the sebaceous gland. On many occasions the sebum, on its way out to the surface of our skin, gets trapped in our hair follicles, thereby blocking the same. This process is known as comedogenisis and results in the formation of whiteheads and blackheads. The acne formed due to this is known in medical parlance as comedones.

Apart from this, there are some other reasons too that contribute to the formation of acne. Our skin contains bacteria known as propionibacterium acnes and it thrives on sebum. During puberty, our skin releases an excessive amount of sebum causing an excessive growth of these bacteria, resulting in formation of acne. Generally people who have excessive propionibacterium acnes face the problems of acne more than people who do not have these bacteria. These two processes are the main causes for the formation of acne. So you now know what causes acne?