Facing Acne: How to deal with it any age
-
Gary Febnshak, 17, from near Johnstown, discusses acne and skin care at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. -
Art Institute of Pittsburgh student Carly Gardenier, 19, of Parish, N.Y. -
Art Institute of Pittsburgh student Star Sulkowski, 20, of McCandless. -
Art Institute of Pittsburgh student Anthony Finley, 18, of North Lewisburg, Ohio.
Share with others:
Star Sulkowski has tried two different products for the acne she gets when she has her period, one sold on the Internet and the other over-the-counter.
Neither one worked for Ms. Sulkowski, 20, of McCandless, a fifth-quarter graphics design major at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In fact, she had an allergic reaction to the over-the-counter product, which had been recommended by her gynecologist.
She uses nothing now, and most of the month her skin is clear. "I just get zits on my face," she said, pointing at her cheeks and her nose.
Carly Gardenier, 19, of Parish, N.Y., also has clear skin -- now. But from the time she was 15 until she started using over-the-counter acne pads at night a year ago, the fifth-quarter entertainment design major at the art institute said she had acne "all over my forehead and on my chin."
It's the lucky teenager who doesn't get at least minor acne -- whiteheads and blackheads -- because hormonal changes are a contributor, said dermatologist Melanie E. Costa, who is affiliated with both the West Penn Allegheny Health System and UPMC. Genetics can determine how bad it gets.
But teens are not the only ones who can get acne.
"We even see babies present with acne occasionally," said Robin Gehris, chief of Pediatric Dermatologic Surgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. "I routinely take care of children 8, 9 or 10 years old for early stages of acne."
Adults can continue to get it, too.
Acne occurs because of something called abnormal keratinization of the hair follicle. A hair follicle normally is wide open so that dead skin cells and oil from the microscopic sebaceous glands easily flow out. In abnormal keratinization, cells stick together and clog the follicle.
"That's when you start to see the whitehead or blackhead; you see debris in that hair follicle," Dr. Gehris said. "More of the hormones make the secretions stickier, so you're more likely to see secretions plugging the opening." After the secretions have been backed up for a while, secondary inflammation can cause redness, she added.
Dermatologists call the clogged pore a comedone. "All acne starts with a comedone," Dr. Costa said. One without inflammation is either a blackhead or whitehead; one with a little inflammation is a pimple; and one with a lot of inflammation can lead to a nodule called a cyst, she said.
If the acne is minor or in early stages, there are things children can do to control it -- like washing gently with oil- and fragrance-free products, the dermatologists said.
First Published September 19, 2011 12:00 am
