How does Acne occur?
Acne is a skin condition that occurs when hair follicles in the skin become filled with oil and dead skin cells. The bacteria responsible for acne breakouts (P Acnes) live on normal, acne-free skin too. It only causes breakouts when there’s overgrowth.
Acne starts with inflammation of the hair follicles from various causes. Sebum, dirt, and dead cell clog up inflamed follicles, causing whiteheads and blackheads. Bacterial overgrowth then leads to more infection around the follicle, sometimes leading to pus formation and tissue destruction. Severe cases end up with pits, scars, and hyperpigmentation on healing.
What types of acne are there?
Acne can appear in multiple ways:
- Whiteheads – bumps of clogged up pores
- Blackheads – bumps of clogged pores with contents exposed to air, turning them brown
- Papules – red and tender bumps
- Pustules -red bumps with pus oozing at the tip
- Nodules – larger solid, red, and painful lumps
- Cystic acne – large painful, pus-filled lumps beneath the surface of the skin
Did you know that up to 15% of adult women suffer from acne? It may be most common among teenagers, but many adults are affected by it too.
What causes acne in adults?
1. Changing hormone levels
Fluctuating hormone levels before menses and menopause or conditions and medications which affect hormonal levels cause breakouts because of increased sebum production.
2. Hairstyling products
Grease and wax from hair products often end up on the forehead and cheeks, clogging follicles.
3. Hair- products
Direct application of these products to the skin can sometimes irritate follicles and lead to acne.
4. Heavy use of cosmetics and sunscreens
These can clog pores and irritate the follicles too.
5. Using too many skincare products
Applying different products all at once challenges your skin with new chemicals, preservatives, and active ingredients that can irritate the skin, causing inflammation and breakouts. This applies to applying too many acne products also.
6. Poor facial cleansing habits
Cosmetics and skin products can combine with natural skin oils to cause breakouts. The problem is not necessarily with the products, but how you remove them. Makeup, excess oil, and dirt buildup over the day clogs pores, triggering breakouts. Double cleansing with a makeup remover and foam wash followed by toner is best. Also, clean your makeup brushes every week, and don’t share cosmetic products.
7. Environmental pollutants
Many air pollutants irritate the skin, causing inflammation, which leads to blocked follicles and P Acnes overgrowth.
8. High glycemic diet and dairy products
Processed food and sugar from foods with a high glycemic index increase skin inflammation, causing breakouts. Milk products that increase progesterone and insulin growth factor levels may encourage breakouts.
9. Stress
Chronic, high levels of stress lead to hormonal disruption and the release of inflammatory chemicals called neuropeptides. The stress response increases sebum production and kickstarts an inflammatory response in the skin, leading to follicular blockage and acne.
10. Dry and fissured skin
Dry skin is often irritated and inflamed and has microscopic cracks and fissures where bacteria can multiply to cause acne.
Common Acne treatments and why they don’t work
The best way to treat acne
Amaros SkinScience’s acne treatment goes beyond eliminating acne — we also rebalance and restore your skin’s health and smooth texture.
We use a 5 step method that helps you be free from acne once and for all:
- Deep microcleansing of pores and follicles without chemicals
- Gentle herbal exfoliation and skin renewal
- Sebum control without drying skin
- Control P Acnes bacterial overgrowth
- Nourish skin and reduce underlying inflammation
We use a proprietary OHL herbal powder during the treatment, which, unlike commonly-used acid peels, exfoliate the skin gently and peels dead skin cells without stripping too much moisture from the skin and leaving it dry.
SkinScience Acne Treatment Options
This method uses no chemicals at all. It uses only a water vortex from a microjet to cleanse and vacuum the skin simultaneously.
The microjets are finer than the width of a hair strand and clean deep inside the pores and follicles. Concurrently, the vacuum lifts and opens up the pores, then removes impurities and dead cells.
The result? Your skin becomes radiant and is now able to absorb the nutrients from our nourishing serums.
For more severe cases, we can use LED blue-light therapy to rapidly kill the bacteria that cause acne. For certain skin conditions, we may use Niacinamide and Zinc to reduce inflammation and close enlarged pores.
We also often use Vitamin C, Angelica Root, Arbutin, and Hyaluronic Acid serums to lighten acne scars and restore deep skin moisture after treatment.
These treatments ensure that your skin clears naturally without relying on antibiotics or harsh treatments. With time and patience, you will experience clear skin and lasting radiance.
What about acne scar removal?
Regardless of your skin type, when acne heals it sometimes leaves scars, pits, and dark spots. If you have this problem, we also offer either red LED therapy or Viva Radio Frequency Resurfacing and Picolasers to help you lighten those scars and even out the texture of your skin.
After that, you have the option of using AD3 Electroporation or our other serums to further nourish and repair your skin.
We also offer a highly effective selection of Antioxidants, Niacinamide, Vitamin C, Arbutin, and more that can:
- Reduce damage from free radicals
- Suppress melanin, and
- Normalize pores.
After treatment with us, we leave many people with skin that is even better than their pre-acne days!
