The 'Skinny' on Dirt and Acne

There have been many misconceptions over the year about cleanliness and acne. Actually it has almost reached the status of a social stigma related to acne. While the notion that acne is a result of a lack of cleanliness is consistently refuted through research, there still remains that connotation that someone has acne because they are somehow less clean that others.

It is important to understand that there is absolutely nothing to back up the idea that acne is the result of dirty skin or living conditions. While chocolate was once thought to trigger an outbreak because of its high fat and sugar content that has in recent years also been disproved. There is no reason to believe that an outbreak will occur based on the fact that one does or does not shower two or more times a day.

We do know, however, that hormonal imbalances can, in fact, trigger acne outbreaks by kicking the sebaceous glands into overdrive and producing far too much sebum for the skin to process. Despite this, until chocolate has been proven to cause these hormonal imbalances (personally, I think chocolate is more of a cure) then it remains in the "acne myth' category just like cleaning. The fact is that washing your face more than twice a day can actually be the source of an acne outbreak rather than doing anything at all in order to prevent or lessen an existing outbreak. Dirt accumulation isn't what clogs pores, but actually an accumulation of dead skin cells and sebum (while washing might not help, exfoliating might). Acne breakouts occur when the pores are clogged with oil and skin debris, not as a result of dirt.

Blackheads, despite the very common belief that the blackness is caused by dirt, are also not signs of poor hygiene. Rather the sign of the presence of a pigment known as melanin in the sebum. Whiteheads are very similar to blackheads but can only be found in closed pores, which are deeper in the skins surface.

While dirt doesn't actually cause acne growth, you still need to maintain healthy, clean skin in order to prevent creating the right circumstances for acne to grow. Take 2 showers a day whenever possible and wash your face at least twice a day with water that is as hot as your can tolerate it. These actions will not necessarily prevent an outbreak from occurring but they might prevent it from escalating.