About 17 million people in the United States have acne and it is the most widespread skin condition in the world.
A vast amount of research has been done on the causes and treatments for acne and there are more acne medications available today than ever before.
And still, many acne myths continue to circulate despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
Common misconceptions are handed down from parent to child and passed from friend to friend.
MYTH: Acne is curable.
FACT: There is no cure for acne.
However, through the consistent use of treatment and remedies acne can be controlled or prevented.
MYTH: Sun is great for acne.
FACT: Sun may temporarily mask your acne, tighten up pores, or dry up the oil glands.
However, the sun will also damage your follicular walls clogging your pores.
Resulting in more acne that may not surface for 3-4 weeks after your sun exposure.
MYTH: Washing your face more often will help clear up acne.
FACT: Facial blemishes are not caused by dirt.
Contrary to what you may have seen in commercials, pores do not get blocked from the top down.
Rather, an entire pore collapses from deep within the skin, starting acne formation.
Frequent washing does nothing to prevent this.
Over-washing is actually irritating, and excess irritation can worsen acne.
A washcloth can aggravate this situation further.
Use bare hands to wash and only wash twice a day.
MYTH: Pizza, chocolate, and other junk food make my acne break out.
FACT: Does chocolate really make you breakout with acne? What about oily foods? Prevailing wisdom in the dermatology community is that diet and acne are not related.
Of course science is never a 100% reliable enterprise.
But at this time, there is no evidence.
A vast amount of research has been done on the causes and treatments for acne and there are more acne medications available today than ever before.
And still, many acne myths continue to circulate despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
Common misconceptions are handed down from parent to child and passed from friend to friend.
MYTH: Acne is curable.
FACT: There is no cure for acne.
However, through the consistent use of treatment and remedies acne can be controlled or prevented.
MYTH: Sun is great for acne.
FACT: Sun may temporarily mask your acne, tighten up pores, or dry up the oil glands.
However, the sun will also damage your follicular walls clogging your pores.
Resulting in more acne that may not surface for 3-4 weeks after your sun exposure.
MYTH: Washing your face more often will help clear up acne.
FACT: Facial blemishes are not caused by dirt.
Contrary to what you may have seen in commercials, pores do not get blocked from the top down.
Rather, an entire pore collapses from deep within the skin, starting acne formation.
Frequent washing does nothing to prevent this.
Over-washing is actually irritating, and excess irritation can worsen acne.
A washcloth can aggravate this situation further.
Use bare hands to wash and only wash twice a day.
MYTH: Pizza, chocolate, and other junk food make my acne break out.
FACT: Does chocolate really make you breakout with acne? What about oily foods? Prevailing wisdom in the dermatology community is that diet and acne are not related.
Of course science is never a 100% reliable enterprise.
But at this time, there is no evidence.