Teenage acne... It's so unfair! However, if you understand the cause and what triggers it, you can target it and fix it naturally. Remember that acne is a symptom and not a cause.

The secret is to find out and understand what the problem really is. That has to do with the sebaceous gland. The sebaceous gland is a gland right underneath your acne that is creating the problem. Here is what is happening. There are about five different situations.

1. Extra tissue is being formed, like a little flake, dryness, or nodule.

2. Then you have a plugged pore which can give you whiteheads or blackheads, which really has to do with this extra tissue plugging up that pore. 

3. You have inflammation where the area is getting red and painful.

4. You have unfriendly bacteria in there that are feeding off the oil, which is called sebum. This is the oil that is supposed to lubricate your skin. 

5. The presence of excess oil or sebum and the enlarged gland is really what acne is. Its not just one thing, so lets get deeper and see what you can do about it. 

The unique thing about the sebaceous gland is that it is highly sensitive to hormones, specifically to androgen which is a male hormone, and even estrogen which is a female hormone. How would girls know that it is more estrogen related? They would notice that during their cycle or right before, acne gets worse. It might even be more severe on one side of the face. When this happens it means that the respective ovary has ovulated and produced more hormones. For example,when the acne is heavier on the left side of your face that means that the left ovary is pumping out too much estrogen. 

On the other hand, one form of androgen is testosterone, which both men and women have, with men having larger amounts of it. If you are pumping out too much androgen, the latter will increase the sebum, the size of the gland itself and extra tissue. 

Now the question is WHY? Why are you producing too much androgen or too much estrogen? 

High androgen:

If you are a female it might be related to a condition called PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome). In this situation your ovaries are pumping out too much androgen. The three big symptoms of PCOS are acne, hair loss or facial hair and deeper voice. And what causes PCOS? High levels of insulin. Therefore, by improving the insulin situation the PCOS can go away. 

The other cause is that you have too much of a certain enzyme that is converting your testosterone in something called DHT, a very powerful form of testosterone. Why would that happen? One of the reasons is that you are vitamin A deficient. So vitamin A can help reduce this enzyme that converts testosterone in DHT and this is probably why accutane works, because accutane is a synthetic version of vitamin A. So vitamin A in a natural form i.e high quality cod liver oil could be very beneficial. Vitamin B5 is another vitamin that also works with vitamin A and helps reduce acne. Lastly zinc; which is very powerful for getting rid of acne because it lowers this enzyme. 

High estrogen:

There are lot of things that can cause high estrogen levels. For example, liver disfunction due to insulin resistance, antibiotics, heartburn medication, antidepressants and alcohol can be some of the reasons of estrogen increase. What can we do about it? Stop bad habits and start eating healthier. The best food for liver would be cruciferous vegitables, i.e kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc.

Diet, diet and … diet!

If you belong to the 85% of teenagers worldwide who suffer from acne, don't worry, you are not alone! 

You can relieve the symptoms of acne naturally, by controlling your diet. Apart from helping you with acne, it will also be beneficial for your whole body.        

Rule number 1: Stop scrubbing. 

The more you scrub your face the more you remove the good bacteria that exist in your skin's microbiome. Acne is an inflammation and scrubbing it will just irritate your skin even more.

Instead do this: Wash your face with a mild soap for acne-prone skin and apply a light moisturising cream. A face mask that works wonders is live Greek yogurt (yes, the one in the ceramic bowl). Live yogurt contains probiotics and lactic acid which fight acne-causing bacteria, reduce inflammation and gently exfoliates your skin. Apply on clean skin for 15-20 minutes and rinse. It will reduce blemishes, redness and leave your skin glowing.

Rule number 2: Fix your diet.

A recent review shows that sugary foods, dairy products and carbohydrates can make acne worse. Instead do this: Start cutting down your sugar, starch and seed oil, (junk food) and start eating more whole foods, because all that refined sugar and starch will spike your androgen hormones.  

Rule number 3: Reduce your stress levels.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, stress doesn't cause acne, but it might worsen it if it already exists. Stress can make acne worse and acne can lead to more stress, anxiety and even social isolation. If you have noticed your skin flaring up during your exam period, it could be due to stress, because stress aggravates inflammation. 

What you can do about it: Make sure you have a good sleep schedule. During the deep sleep cycle, we release growth hormones that help our skin heal and repair. Adequate sleep strengthens the skin's natural healing process and reduces inflammation.

The aim of this article is to give teenagers a basic understanding of what acne is, so that they can be informed and prepared to discuss further with their dermatologist about whether it would be best to treat acne naturally or by medication. 

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