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The problem of acne (also called acne vulgaris), spots and pimples is something that pretty much all of you had to endure at some stage in your life. For most of you it was during your teenage years (some of you might be at that stage right now). As a matter of fact more than 85% of teenagers suffer from acne problems. For others acne and similar skin disorders follow on into your adult life. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself exactly what's causing your acne or how it might be treated?

Acne, as a skin condition, is far more complex than most people think. As skin pores become blocked and the sebaceous glands in your skin become overactive (hyperactive in some cases) you begin to see spots and pimples all over your skin. These blocked skin pores then provide the perfect breeding ground for a bacterial infection which spreads rapidly across the skin and leaves you with an acne outbreak. As the bacterial infection spreads your skin becomes inflamed and sore as your body reacts to the presence of yeast in the bacterial infection.

Most people think that acne is caused by excessive oil and grease from the skin clogging up the pores and this then causes zits, pimples and blackheads. The odd thing is that the oil (sebum) trapped in the pore actually moves through the blockage and onto the surface of the skin which gives you the double problem of acne and oily skin. The oil itself, however, is not the cause of the acne.

So where do your acne actually come from? What causes it? The answer is a lot of things can cause acne. Several of the most common are stress, steroids, genetics and of course "abnormal" hormonal activity that you might experience during puberty or as part of your menstrual cycle each month. Wait? No mention of junk food? Nope! Why? Simply because there's no proven medical link between eating junk food and getting acne. Junk food will make you fat but won't cause zits.

The acne and pimples themselves are not the only thing to worry about. Excessive acne that's left untreated can leave the skin scarred and pitted for life. Don't just ignore the problem when it appears and pray that it will simply vanish - it won't. There's no point in letting yourself wide open to the long term psychological scars for the sake of taking some simple steps right now.

What acne treatments are available to you? Fortunately the treatments for acne are many and varied. You can start with basics of skin care which is exfoliation. Then you can start looking at natural treatments like taking lots of Vitamin A. Next we have the topical and oral antibiotics, Retinoic Acid (also called Retin-A), laser therapy and light therapy. Last (and by no means least) is the simple option of following a healthy lifestyle, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, drink lots of clean water and get a fairly reasonable amount of exercise. This puts your body in balance and allows it to function properly and prevent skin conditions like acne.

You can conquer your acne. Take steps today to cure or prevent it. Your skill will thank you in the long run.