Rising hormone levels during puberty may cause acne. Also, acne is often inherited. Other causes of acne may include the following:
- Hormone level changes during a woman’s menstrual cycle
- Hormone changes during pregnancy
- Starting or stopping birth control pills
- Certain medicines (such as corticosteroids, lithium, and barbiturates)
- Oil and grease from the scalp, mineral or cooking oil, and certain cosmetics
- Diet may also play a role
Squeezing the pimples or scrubbing the skin too hard can make acne worse. Skin may also become irritated with friction or pressure from helmets, backpacks, or tight collars. Pollution or humidity can also irritate the skin.
Acne is caused when tiny holes in the skin, known as hair follicles, become blocked.
Sebaceous glands are tiny glands found near the surface of your skin. The glands are attached to hair follicles, which are small holes in your skin that an individual hair grows out of.
Sebaceous glands lubricate the hair and the skin to stop it drying out. They do this by producing an oily substance called sebum.
In acne, the glands begin to produce too much sebum. The excess sebum mixes with dead skin cells and both substances form a plug in the follicle.
If the plugged follicle is close to the surface of the skin, it bulges outwards, creating a whitehead. Alternatively, the plugged follicle can be open to the skin, creating a blackhead.
Normally harmless bacteria that live on the skin can then contaminate and infect the plugged follicles, causing papules, pustules, nodules or cysts.