Did you know that acne is just a fancy-pants name for pimples? Its scientific name is acne vulgaris. Awful name, isn’t it? I always thought that vulgaris meant that something was a bit gross. Turns out that it just means common. How funny!

Acne is a disorder of the skin caused by inflammation of the skin glands and hair follicles and usually sneaks into our lives when we are teenagers. Just what we need when we’re young when we are already self-conscious and starting to discover who we are.

Acne is common and affects ten percent of us worldwide. This is more than 650 million people! It can have a serious mental health impact, contributing to low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. It usually starts out as blackheads and whiteheads on our forehead and chins as teenagers and then progresses to red, pus-filled lumps that can be painful and may or may not develop into cysts or scars.

“Every day is like hell and I’m so tired of being in pain and having to spend so much time and effort dealing with my skin.” Jo, 22

My acne started as small, painful red spots and blackheads on my chin when I was 10 years old and even now into my fifties it raises its ugly little head sometimes (usually before a big event, the “special occasion zit”). Sometimes acne outstays its welcome in our teenage lives and continues well into adulthood and sometimes it all of a sudden just appears or disappears for no good reason. Talk about hard to work out.

We should take acne seriously any day of the week and it is why I have lovingly crafted this book for you. There are SO many effective treatments for acne, including medical grade skincare, topical and oral medications, and procedural therapies like peels, laser and the like. There is absolutely no “one size fits all” approach we can take, but there is good science behind how we should make decisions on how we manage our acne.

What causes acne?

Acne is due to a combination of factors, but the exact mechanisms are not fully understood. Influencing it are:

4. Family history
5. Male (androgenic) hormones
6. Immune factors
7. Excess oil production
8. Follicular clumping of the surface skin cells (hyperkeratinisation)
9. Bacterial colonisation
10. Skin inflammation within the glands.

Acne usually starts out as blackheads and/or whiteheads but can progress from something relatively simple to deal with into an angry, red inflammatory state, and that’s where it all gets a bit more complicated. It can develop into a very complex skin condition, and it can do it quickly as the following skin issues start to develop:

1. Impaired skin barrier
2. Abnormal follicular keratinisation and comedo formation
3. Increased sebum production
4. Proliferation of Cutibacterium acnes bacteria
5. Inflammation
6. Scarring

The bacterial organism responsible for acne is Cutibacterium acnes, or C. acnes for short (and it really isn’t cute at all). C acnes is the new name for Propionibacterium acnes. It got its new name around 2016 when microbiologists reclassified it after genome analysis. When you read about acne you will see it called by both names.

Flares of acne can be triggered by:

• Stress
• Polycystic ovarian disease, pregnancy, or other hormonal changes
• Drugs including steroids, hormones, anticonvulsants and others
• Application of the incorrect cosmetics
• High environmental humidity or sweating from exercise
• Diet high in dairy products and high glycaemic foods.

What’s the difference between pimples and acne?

It all means the same no matter what you call it. Acne, pimples, zits, whelks, spots, pimpies, pfg, pizza face, plooky, gourd garden, crater or braille face. The slang names and insults just keep coming, don’t they? Acne is the accepted medical term for everything that isn’t just blackheads and whiteheads.

Are you looking for medical grade skincare to see visible improvements in your skin? Try our Bye Bye Blemishes pack.