Frequently asked questions about acne

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Click on the blue text to go farther down the page and read about What is Acne?

The basics:

ACNE & SKIN DETOX (must read)

ACNE CLEANSING LOTION ( for very oily skin use, for a while, before BIOSKINCLEAR)

ACNE & NUTRITIONAL HABITS (some lifestyle changes that may be of long lasting benefit to you)

ACNE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Related Themes of Interest:

The questions and answers related to the following topics are listed at the pages you reach through the links and also further below:

ACNE SCARS - RAISED, ICE PICK OR INDENTED, KELOID, AND ALL TYPES

BIOSKINCLEAR HELPS TO AVOID SIDE EFFECTS OF DRUGS ( ACCUTANE )

BIOSKINCLEAR SHOULD BE USED FOR ACNE SCARS WHILE ON ACCUTANE

BIOSKINCLEAR versus OTHER OVER THE COUNTER ACNE TREATMENT PRODUCTS

ANTIBIOTICS, DRUGS, BIRTH CONTROL PILLS, ETC. & MORE INFORMATION ON ACNE

ACNE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

What makes this product a wise treatment for acne and also effective for acne prevention? How does your acne gel control acne bacteria, clogged pores and other causes of acne ? Does it clear acne blemishes such as post inflammatory dark pigmentation or redness and scars? How can I quickly discern if this acne treatment is working for me? Is this natural acne medicine also for back acne and body acne or just to clear acne on the face? Is this acne skin care product as effective for adult acne, baby acne and teenage acne? What makes this anti acne product effective to treat acne breakouts ? Will this product help me prevent acne even if I have a very acne prone skin and acne runs strong in my family? I wonder how to get rid of acne fast — I mean that odd pimple or acne blemish that emerges every now and then—, can acne be gone overnight with the acne cleansing wash based on glycolic, lactic and salicylic acid that you offer?

Acne Scars - Raised, Ice Pick or Indented, Keloid and all Types

Can I use the same acne care product to cure acne while getting rid of acne scars ? How fast does it clear the acne scarring left behind by severe acne or cystic acne? If I apply the acne product twice a day every day on my ice pick scars how long will it take to start noticing significant improvements?

Use of BIOSKINCLEAR for Acne Scars While on ACCUTANE or other MEDICATIONS

Can I use the gel for acne scar removal while on other acne products or acne medications I have been prescribed? More specifically, can I use the gel for acne scar removal while on Accutane, Differin or Antibiotics?

Use of BIOSKINCLEAR to avoid the Side Effects of DRUGS (ACCUTANE) and other Acne Meedications

What makes this acne home remedy a wise decision for use in conjunction with drugs to avoid the undesired side effects on the skin of treatment of acne that is recalcitrant to other treatments, the type know as nodular acne cystic?

How is BIOSKINCLEAR's Performance Compared to other Acne Products

What makes this acne solution different than over the counter acne solutions or acne cures ? How does this natural acne treatment compare to acne remedies such as the Acne Complex kit by Murad, based on salicylic acid or the Proactiv solution based on benzoyl peroxide or other products based on resorcinol, or sulfur? How does your product compare to other natural acne treatments, specially to those that say they address not only the root cause of acne but purport there are multiple acne causes ? Is this only an acne remedy or also for rosacea treatment?

Antibiotics, Drugs, Birth Control Pills, etc. & More Info on Acne

What is acne vulgaris ? How does our product compare to Proactiv Solution? What are the risks of antibiotic treatments for acne? What are the risks of treating acne with isotretinoin drugs? Where can I read more about acne problems, what is acne, propionibacterium acnes, acne skin care products, acne medication, teen acne or information on acne that is not biased?

What Is Acne?
Acne is an inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceous follicles.

The hair follicle and sebaseous glands continually undergoes dynamic remodeling in a cyclical manner involving tightly coordinated patterns of cell proliferation, differentiation and death of cells. Sebaseous glands are clustered by the side of a hair follicle, into which they discharge the sebum.

Their short duct is lined by stratified squamous epithelium. Sebum is formed by the total breakdown of the cells and may lubricate the hair shaft, protect the skin from drying and moisture, and prevent bacterial infection.

Ongoing research is modifying the classical view of breakouts as caused by Propionibacterium acnes bacteria to a perception of breakouts as an inflammatory disorder with androgens, hormone receptors, regulatory neuropeptides, and environmental factors being agents able to interrupt the natural cyclical dynamic breakdown of dead cells into sebum within the sebaceous follicles. Interruption of discharge of sebum to the surface of skin leads to occlusion of the ducts (microcomedones) and then enlarged comedones that become inflammatory lesions.

Pro-inflammatory lipids, chemokines (molecules released by cells at the site of injury or infection which give rise to intracellular signals which stimulate cell motion, and cytokines (cell-secreted proteins that affect the expression of growth factors as well as migration of white blood cells to an injured site and fibroblast proliferation), seem to act as mediators for the initiation of acne lesions. Propionibacterium acnes is not initially involved but may mediate later inflammatory events leading to worsening of the lesions.

Variation in the innate immunity of the skin predisposes to acne. Some people have higher levels of constitutive, innate, immunity in the skin and some may also have a much stronger response to external stimuli, and such depends indirectly on hereditary factors related to excess androgen activity in puberty, that trigger sterile inflammatory phenomena.

During adolescence sebaceous glands enlarge and produce more sebum under the influence of hormones, also called androgens. After about age 20, sebum production begins to decrease.

Acne is initiated by an inflammatory signal to the neural system without involvement of bacteria in its initiation. During puberty sebum production is exacerbated and the first flow of sebum through the previously empty duct might create shear forces of sufficient magnitude that injure the pilosebaseous gland. The body responds with the release of inflammatory molecules to promote cell division and quickly restore the lining of the inner surface of the ducts. At the same time sebum at the external orifice of the sebaceous gland duct and/or the hair follicle leads to formation of a dry "plug" (comedone) which obstructs the flow of sebum. On exposure to oxygen, the comedone turns dark forming what is commonly referred to as a "black head". The water content of the comedone is reduced by evaporation and diffusion into the adjacent horny layer (keratin) of the surface epidermis resulting in a hardening of the comedone, starting at the external surface. The comedone may become attached to the keratin and thus "moored" to adjacent elements of the skin. The comedone becomes modified chemically, as well as physically, thus becoming a material which is foreign to the body.

This state of "foreignness" provokes a further inflammatory reaction, including immune reactions and other responses of various defense systems, particularly those associated with granulocytes and macrophages. If the inflammatory reaction and the immune and other defense responses are effective in eliminating or containing the effects of the comedone, further progression of acne manifestations do not occur. Frequently, however, the immune and other defense reactions are not effective in terminating the acne process at this stage and the process progresses partly or wholly as described below.

While the comedone is obstructing the outlet of the duct, the sebaceous glands can continue to form sebum, which accumulates in the duct and in the glands, distending both. The distension and the resulting pressure lead to further intensification of the inflammatory reaction in the adjacent skin and subcutaneous tissues and produce additional swelling (edema), redness (erythema), discomfort, and a mass, which includes the obstructed and thefore encysted sebaceous gland ("redhead", "pimple", or acne papule). Frequently, the defense mechanisms are not adequate to terminate this process promptly at the acne papule stage and it continues to progress as outlined below.

The above conditions favor the growth of bacteria, and the resultant infections involve the duct, the sebaceous glands and the surrounding tissues, usually in that order. The onset of the infection produces further inflammatory changes, thereby initiating a vicious cycle causing continued and/or increased obstruction of the outflow of the sebum, which in turn leads to more pressure, more inflammation and continued or progressive infection. This leads to the formation of the acne pustule. The immune and other defense mechanisms having been inadequate to prevent these conditions from arising, frequently fail to arrest or reverse the process early in the acne pustule stage and it persists or progresses further.

Obstruction with or without infection leads to the formation of cysts. Infection of a cyst results in the formation of an abscess which leads to local tissue destruction. If this destruction of tissue has involved the connective tissue elements of the skin or subcutaneous tissues to a sufficient degree, healing is frequently accompanied and/or followed by scar formation.

The scars in acne can vary from minimal to extensive and severely disfiguring problems which are permanent sequallae of acne. While the process by which acne arises and lasts for an indefinite time may and frequently does come to a halt as a result of treatment or spontaneously, the scars persist for life unless they are removed.