1. Your Hair Follicles May Be Sick!
A disorder of the inside lining of your hair follicles may be the reason you are having bouts of acne. This is hyperkeratinization and it can cause some big problems with your skin’s condition. The cells inside of a normal hair follicle slough off or detach from the lining of the skin at normal rates and levels. Dead cells push out forcefully from the follicle by the new incoming hair. When this process is disturbed to the point that a number of these types of dead cells can’t leave the follicle, it may be due to an excess of keratin, which is a type of natural protein contained in the skin.
2. Extra Keratin
Genetics greatly influence if you have an excess of keratin. Hyperkeratinization causes an increase in the actual bonding that cause skin cells that are dead to stuck together. When this happens, a blockage of the hair follicle results that causes the oil ducts/sebaceous ducts to clog, resulting in acne.
3. Treatment of Skin Acne
Treatments focus on reducing the amount of oil produced, invigorating skin to cause a cellular turnover faster, assisting in reducing bacterial infection and alleviating the inflammation that occurs with these interventions. Treatment may take up to six to eight weeks before you see any improvement. The physician may also prescribe medications for you to apply topically or take orally. Medication options include antibiotics, drying lotions and those that increase cell turnover rate such as Retin-A, medications that can help to treat severe forms of acne that manifest as cysts, laser therapy to reach deeper layers of the skin, and even oral birth control pills (for women only) for their hormonal benefits.
4. Cosmetic Treatments and Therapies
There are many different types of chemical and cosmetic type modalities available to help if you suffer from the effects of hyperkeratinization. These can help to control and even lessen the physical effects of acne. Things such as collagen injection, which acts as a soft tissue filling type of therapy, helps to make any scarring less visually noticeable.
5. Dermabrasion for Scar Repair
Dermabrasion is for mild to more severe type of scarring. This procedure removes the top layer of any skin affected with a wire-type brush instrument, which rotates at a rapid rate. This helps to remove surface scars and can make deeper ones less noticeable. For a deeper treatment, lasers can be used. These treatments utilize a beam of light to wipe out the top and outer layer of epidermis, which makes new skin form. After a few treatments, the scars are less visually noticeable.
