Acne Vulgaris Pictures

What is Acne Vulgaris you might ask?
Acne Vulgaris commonly referred to as just acne, is a very common skin condition that effects most commonly the face, chest, and back. Acne Vulgaris usually starts during adolescence and continues into adulthood, and often starts to diminish in the early twenties if not completely go away, though many individuals suffer from acne through their adult lives as well.

How Common is Acne?
Acne is America’s most common disease in that it affects 60-70% of Americans in their lifetime. Severe acne effects roughly 1 in every 5 individuals, and can cause both physical and mental scarring.

Acne Factors
There are many factors that you can’t control that can influence how likely you are to get acne. Some of these factors include race and sex. For example acne is very common in North American whites, while Spanish people are more likely to develop cystic acne. As far as sex goes, Acne Vulgaris is more common in adolescent males then adolescent femails but as adults acne is more common among females than males.

Types of mild acne and Acne Vulgaris Pictures

Whiteheads
Whiteheads apprear when a pore becomes completely blocked causing dead skin cells, oil, and bacteria to because completely trapped underneath the surface of the skin. When trapped underneath the skin, these will cause bumps with a white appearance on the surface. Whiteheads usually do not last as long blackheads will.
Blackheads
Blackheads are caused by a pore only partially being blocked allowing the oil, dead skin cells, and bacteria to drain out. The black color of blackheads is actually caused by melanin (the skins pigment) reacting to oxygen. Blackheads often take a longer time to clear because the fact that they are only partially blocked causes them to be a more stable structure, which causes them to last longer.
Papules
Papules are red inflamed bumps with no head, do not squeeze a papule as it will increase the chance of scarring.
Pustules
Pustules are your average everyday zit. Pustules are identifiable by appearing as a red inflamed circle with a white or yellow center.

What Causes acne?
Although the exact cause of acne is unknown there are major factors that are believed to be predominantly responsible for the onset of acne.  Four of these factors include overactive oil glands, blockage of the skin pores, the activity of skin bacteria and inflamamation.
Overactive Oil Glands
Oil glands are connected to a canal that contains a hair known as a hair follicle. Oil glands are stimulated to produce oil by male hormones known as androgens, men produce these hormones in the testes while woman produce some of these hormones in their ovaries (not quite as much as men). During puberty the oil glands go into overdrive due to the hormonal changes in the body.
Blockage of the Skin Pores
Blockage occurs when dead skin cells bunch together and cause a clogging of the pore, it is not known why this happens but it is known that it is not due to poor hygiene. Then the poor is blocked a blackhead or whitehead will develop.
Activity of Skin Bacteria
When Propionibacterium acnes, (also known as P. acnes) a bacterium that prevents the skin from being invaded by harmful bacteria are trapped in the blocked pore they produce chemicals that change the composition of the oil, this in turn makes it more irritating to the skin which causes inflammation.
Inflammation
Inflammation occurs because the body is trying to rid itself of a foreign substance, which in the case of the acne is either the bacteria or the compound in which has been produced from the bacteria and the oil.