Forehead Acne
Causes And Treatment Of Forehead Acne
A little information on the causes and treatment of forehead acne is fine, but what about a cure? A cure for acne is not such as simple thing to define, as you'll see once we've covered the underlying cause. Acne can be successfully treated in most cases, though it can be a tough customer to deal with at times. Forehead acne is no different really than acne in other places. The forehead just happens to be one of the parts of our body where we are most apt to experience acne.
Acne is actually caused by something that is very good for us, in fact essential to our well being. Acne, and forehead acne, is not caused by eating chocolates, too many fatty foods, or simply by following poor dietary habits, although those things can contribute. The wrong food, and a number of other things can trigger an outbreak of acne, but there is a difference between a root cause and a trigger. Take away the root cause and you can eat all the chocolate and greasy foods you want, and you won't get forehead acne. You may come down with some other problems, such as high blood sugar levels or weight gain, but that's another subject.
Not Chocolate, But Sebum - The good, and bad, guy in all of this is a substance called sebum. Sebum, produced in the sebaceous glands in our skin, consists of keratin, fat, and other cellular material. It functions to lubricate the skin, keeping the skin soft and flexible, and also serves to keep bacteria on the surface of the skin under control. Sebum also brings dead skin and hair cells to the surface, in effect providing a cleansing as well as a lubricating action. A deficiency in sebum will result in a dry skin condition, which when excessive is not healthy. Just the right amount of sebum will produce an ever so slightly oily skin, skin that is properly moisturized. Excessive sebum production can result in skin that is not only very oily, but the sebum and dead cells can clog up glands and pores, and acne can be a result. The skin in our foreheads, and scalp, usually produce more sebum than do other parts of the body, making the possibility of forehead acne more likely.
It's All About Hormones - Forehead acne is most often experienced by those in the age group between preteen and young adults. One reason behind this is that sebum production is caused by certain hormones, called androgens. As a person becomes older, less and less sebum is produced by these hormones and outbreaks of acne become less frequent, or disappear altogether.
Stress Plays A Role - Most of what we do in treating acne is really an attempt to control it, as topical cremes and antibiotics do not influence hormone production or the production of sebum, but merely attack the effects of overproduction. Although effective treatment is not the same as a cure, it certainly can be the next best thing, and topical treatments and medications, whether prescribed or purchased over the counter, can be very effective indeed. The other approach one can take is to attempt to minimize those things that can act to trigger a flare up of acne. Chocolate and fatty foods do play a role here. They don't cause acne, but can trigger it. The same is true of sunlight, stress, and a number of other things. Stress can play a role, as stress can directly affect hormone production, causing in some cases excessive hormone production and in other case a deficiency. Stress, when not managed properly, can lead to all sorts of problems, including acne flare ups. Since it is hormone production that is involved in this case, it shouldn't be too surprising to discover that hormone treatments can also trigger acne, since a hormone treatment gone wrong can create many different kinds of problems.
Is Sunlight Actually Bad? - Sunshine is another factor we sometimes have to deal with. There's a common misconception that sunshine is effective in treating acne. To some extent this may be true, but sunshine can also make an acne condition worse. One thing that a sun tan does is to hide the redness and blemishes that often accompany acne, leading us to believe that a cure is in the works. The suns rays on the other hand, produce free radicals in the skin, which adversely affect the skin's ability to heal itself or fight bacteria and infections, and these free radicals can actually promote outbreaks of acne.
Cleanliness Is The Best Treatment - The best course of treatment is to see a dermatologist, if your case of forehead acne is particularly bad. If it is mild, there are several over the counter medications that may help. Cleanliness is usually the best treatment, together with avoiding substances or practices that might irritate the skin. Also, be aware that some medications which are effective against acne have side effects, one of them being premature aging of the skin. It seems that there always is something to worry about, the minute we think we've found a cure. Think treatment, and not cure, in the case of forehead acne.