It may come as a surprise to you, but acne is not caused by dirty skin or a lack of hygiene. In actual fact, acne occurs when someone has overactive oil glands in the skin. When the oil glands release too much oil it gets clogged up in the pores and stay on the surface of the skin. An accumulation of this with dead skin cells and bacteria will lead to inflamed pores.
Oil glands become more simulated when hormones become active during puberty. This is why people often get acne when they’re in their teens. Since having acne is genetic, if you or your spouse suffers from it, it is likely that your child will develop acne too.
Other causes and prevention
Although there is no sure way to prevent acne, these tips can help reduce the number and severity of breakouts:
Washing the skin at least twice a day will help remove excess oils and dead skin cells that can clog the pores. However, too much washing can make things worse by over drying the skin, causing it to produce more oil than it should, leading to acne.
Remember to wash face after sweating caused by exercise or working around greasy food heat, if not, pores will get clogged and acne will develop.
Look for noncomedogenic or nonacnegenic skincare products which will not clog up pores. Girls should also avoid having their hair near their faces because many hair products contain oils that can make acne worse. Instead, use water based products.
Treatments
Do NOT pop them! Although it may be very tempting, squeezing pimples will push the infected material deeper into the skin, making the problem worse. It can even lead to permanent scarring.
Over-the-counter products will work for some people, even if it does take much longer to see results. The most popular and effective OTC acne-fighting ingredient is benzoyl peroxide. Other ingredients such as salicylic acid help dry out spots.
If these don’t work, your tween can consider consulting a doctor. They can prescribe special gels, creams or pills. When taking prescribed medicine, it’s important to finish the entire prescription, because if your child stops too early, there’s a chance that they will break out all over again.
Healthy foods enriched in vitamins and minerals can also greatly your child’s skin.
Tweens need to remember that it could just be a phase that they are going through and when it comes to seeing results, they will need to have a lot of patience.
