Skin Care Decoded!

All acne disorder are caused by the pilosebaceous unit which consist of a hair follicle, the sebaceous gland and a hair. Although these units are found everywhere on the body, the number of pilosebaceous unit is more dense around the face, upper neck and chest area.

As you know, the sebaceous gland produces sebum which is responsible for keeping the hair and skin moisturized. A healthy and moisturized skin works correctly when the sebum fills up the hair follicle which when the follicle is full, the sebum automatically spreads over the skin surface, thus, giving the skin an oily appearance. However, problem arises when the sebum is trapped in the hair follicles. Usually obstructed due to micro dust particles on skin, the sebum which is trapped will cause some follicles to form blackheads and whiteheads.

Acne and bacterias are also a common cause of acne. A bacteria known as the Propionibacterium acne is a normal inhabitant of the skin which uses the sebum as a nutrient for growth. Usually, people with acne have more Propionibacterium acne bacteria in their follicles than those people without acne.

The presence of this bacteria attracts the white blood cells to the follicle which in turn produces an enzyme which damages the wall of the follicle allowing the contents of the follicle to enter the dermis. This will cause inflammatory reaction to the skin which is seen by us as red bumps, pustules and nodules.