Acne Treatment

Acne can be caused by a variety of reasons, but the most common cause is a change in hormone levels.

This is why acne is most common in teenagers, during pregnancy, and at different times during your menstrual cycle.

Hormonal changes can cause the glands next to hair follicles to produce more oil (sebum) than normal, which can change the activity of a normally harmless bacterium to become aggressive and cause inflammation and pus.

Acne can cause different types of spots to develop on the face, back and chest including:

• Blackheads: bumps that are small and black or yellowish in colour
• Whiteheads: similar to blackheads, but may be firmer and won’t be empty when squeezed
• Papules: small red bumps that may feel tender or sore
• Pustules: similar to papules, but with a white tip in the centre that is caused by a build-up of pus
• Nodules: large hard lumps that can be painful
• Cysts: large pus-filled lumps that look similar to boils and carry the greatest risk of causing permanent scarring

Acne is a skin condition that can happen to anyone but is especially common in children and young adults.

Acne happens when the glands in the surface of your skin start to produce too much of an oil named sebum, which can clog your follicles, causing spots, whiteheads, blackheads, and more.

It’s caused by hormonal changes, like those that happen during puberty, pregnancy, or throughout your period.

When you have acne, your skin will produce too much oil or sebum, which then clogs your pores and causes breakouts.

When combined with this excess oil, the bacteria that live on your skin can get aggravated, causing redness and inflammation alongside the spots and this whole combination can be sore and irritating.

Acne can be mild, causing just a few spots and blackheads, but can range all the way to severe acne, which can cause large, painful papules, cysts, and nodules on top of everything else.

Although people think acne is all about breakouts of spots, there are a couple of other symptoms you may experience when you have acne, including oily skin, or skin that’s sore or hot to touch.

Acne usually appears on your face, chest, or back, and it can be tempting to squeeze the spots that appear there, but you should resist the temptation and use an acne treatment to help you manage your condition effectively and avoid scarring.

Acne is a skin condition that results in spots caused by the build up of too much sebum (oil) in the hair follicles in your skin.

 

There are different types of acne and different levels of severity. The different types of spots include blackheads, whiteheads, papules, pustules, nodules and cysts.

 

Your acne may be deemed as severe if you develop nodules (large, hard, painful lumps that build up beneath the surface of the skin) or cysts (large, pus-filled lumps that look similar to boils).

 

At this stage, you should seek advice from your GP for expert treatment to avoid scarring, especially if it’s making you feel very unhappy.

Hydrocortisone cream usually isn’t the best treatment for acne and it shouldn’t be used on the face unless you’re specifically told to by your doctor.

 

This is because steroid creams like hydrocortisone can sometimes be too strong for the delicate skin of your face, and can cause skin damage or make your acne worse.

 

If you’re suffering from acne and think that hydrocortisone cream could help, you should speak to your doctor.

 

They’ll examine your acne and determine whether hydrocortisone cream would be right for you, or whether you should use a different treatment.

Vitamin supplements don’t cause acne.

 

Acne is a skin condition caused by hormonal changes in your body, like those during your period or when you’re pregnant.

 

Although some vitamins can help to support healthy skin, they don’t affect your hormones, so they shouldn’t affect your acne.

 

If you have acne and have found that normal skincare routines haven’t helped, we recommend speaking to your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

 

They could recommend a treatment like benzoyl peroxide that can help to ease moderate to severe breakouts.

It’s not recommended to treat your acne with vitamin B12; in fact, a 2015 study revealed that it may cause acne by altering the bacteria that live on the skin.

 

Although it’s uncommon to break out due to vitamin B12, if you’re looking for a vitamin to treat your acne, this isn’t the one - vitamin B12’s main benefit is keeping your blood and nerve cells healthy.

Acne scars are usually permanent unless you opt for cosmetic surgery to remove them. 

These types of procedures are usually only available on the NHS if the scarring is causing serious psychological distress. 

Treatments for acne scars include dermabrasion (removing the top layer of skin), laser treatment or surgical removal.

If you want to use tea tree oil for your skin or to soothe spots or mild acne, then you can pick up some pure tea tree oil or use skin care products that contain tea tree oil.

If you decide to use pure tea tree oil for your skin, we’d recommend putting a couple of drops onto a cotton wool ball or cotton bud and using this to apply the tea tree oil directly to the area you wish to treat.

If you find that undiluted tea tree oil is too harsh on your skin, dilute 25 – 30 drops of the oil in 100ml of water and use this solution on your skin instead.

Do not apply tea tree oil to broken, inflamed, or infected areas of skin.

Acne can be hard to overcome, so you may feel defeated if you’re left with scars after the acne itself has healed.

 

Acne scarring is common when the most serious types of spots (nodules and cysts) burst and damage nearby skin.

 

Scars can also occur if you pick or squeeze your spots, so it’s important to avoid doing this if you’ve currently got active acne.