Are your teenagers struggling with Acne? It is one of those horrors of the teenage years. If your child is also dealing with adoption issues, fitting in, finding their place in the world, acne can seem like the end of a social life. You want to help, you offer kind words, and you dutifully look for a product that will clear the acne. There are so many to choose from, how can you know which ones will actually work? Are they all the same? If they are different, then what ingredients should you look for?

Sebaceous glands are connected to the hair follicles. The job of the glands is to secrete an oily substance to lubricate your hair and skin. The oily substance is sebum, and it normally travels up the hair shafts to the skin surface. If your body makes too much sebum and dead skin cells, they can form a soft plug in the hair follicle when they accumulate. If the plug grows, it can cause the follicle wall to rupture letting in more oil and skin cells. The bacteria that grow in there can cause inflammation and infection and the result is acne.

The bacteria that cause acne are Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes.) Some over the counter products work by killing these bacteria. Other products either accelerate the growth of new skin cells while removing dead skin cells or they work by removing excess oil from the skin. Some products offer a combination cure.
One ingredient that works by the combination attack is Benzoyl peroxide. It is a very effective active ingredient in acne products. This is because it kills P. acnes, assist in the removal excess oils, and removes dead skin cells. It is available in different strengths, so you should try the lowest first. It can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight, cause dryness, scaling, redness, and minor swelling. It can take up to six weeks of daily use of an acne product to see good results. In the meantime, it may look worse, so be patient.

Have you noticed how some siblings seem to have acne much worse than others do? If you adopted a sibling group and the oldest sibling struggles with severe acne, then the others probably will too. Hopefully, you will find something that works for all of them.

Source Mayo Clinic
Apr 18, 2008



Photo Credit: 2008 Julia Fuller.