Acne and Hygiene

It is an unfortunate association, but nevertheless a prevalent one, that acne in both adults and teenagers is caused by a poor lack of personal hygiene. This is particularly unfortunate, given that there is absolutely no truth in it, yet it is a misconception that carries through public consciousness.

There is, absolutely and totally, no link between acne and poor hygiene. Nor will rigorously scrubbing, cleaning or attacking acne skin with a brush do anything but hurt you; such behaviour will have absolutely no effect on acne whatsoever, apart from a detrimental one. There is a chance that fervent scrubbing of acne infected skin will actually make the acne appear worse, as it will just become inflamed from having to withstand such an onslaught.

It is likely that this common myth associated of acne and dirt comes directly from blackheads, a particular type of acnes. Blackheads are caused by excess glands that have accumulated in the duct of sebaceous glands on the skin, and are extremely unsightly. They are raised bumps which often turn yellow or black in colour, which is probably where the association of poor hygiene originates. To the untrained eye, a lot of blackheads on skin do simply appear like lots of small specks of dirt.

This is a general conception that dearly needs to be debunked, but it is unlikely it will ever happen; the concept is simply too ingrained in public conscious. So knowing this, if you suffer from acne, it is important that you rise above – and if possible inform – any comments you receive about acne being caused by a lack of good personal hygiene.

All that is needed to prevent acne is a daily wash of the face, either with just standard soap and water or using a mild and gentle cleanser. In fact, the harsher the cleanser or product you may use – such as some branded acne lotions – the more damage you are doing to your skin in the long term.

Yet the fact remains, and be reassured, that there are plenty of completely clean and hygienic people who suffer from acne. On the other side of the argument, there are also plenty of dirty people with poor personal hygiene who don’t suffer from acne. So put away the scrubbing brush and soap, and look for other ways to resolve acne problems, should they arise.