How to Face Down Acne: What’s Science and What’s Myth

By: Fayne Frey, MD

Myths abound about acne but science shows it’s a chronic inflammatory condition affecting hair follicles and oil glands. Effective treatments are available.

Who doesn’t know the horror of waking up to an inflamed red pimple? Not only does it cause physical discomfort but the psychological toll and sheer embarrassment over the “damned spot” can weigh on us for days. If this has happened to you then you know first hand how hard it is to face down acne.

Of course, Internet blogs, health, and beauty magazines are brimming with cure-all antidotes, recommended spot treatments, and do-it-yourself remedies for the condition. But how much of what you read is based on science? In this article, we are going to explore what science says about acne and about what is truly effective as opposed to a myth?

Here is what will be covered:

What is acne?

Acne is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory condition of the hair follicle and its associated oil glands (pilosebaceous unit). Due to abnormal shedding of cells that line the hair follicle and an increase in the production of oil from the sebaceous glands, often initiated by androgens with the onset of puberty, a micro-plug (a clogged pore) is…