Win the fight against acne – get the facts right!

Educate yourself. If you suffer from acne, you may think you have a problem. You do, but it's not as bad as you think - and you're not alone - you have plenty of company from people of all ages! Even so, it's important to begin at the beginning, and discard all the myths surrounding this very common condition that have built up over time, and which make the problem seem insurmountable.

Teenage problem? Not entirely. People often seem to think that acne is a problem restricted to the teenage years - not strictly true, although the condition is more common around the adolescent years. This is because during adolescence, production of the hormone androgen is highest. Androgen stimulates the secretion of sebum from the sebaceous glands, which then combines with dead cells on the surface of the skin, causing acne.

More than just skin deep. Many people are under the impression that acne is just a superficial problem. This could not be more untrue. Since acne is a skin condition and an unsightly one at that, it affects the way people feel about themselves. For obvious reasons, this is not a very positive feeling.

Ladies first? Not this time! Another mistake that many people make is in thinking that boys and girls are equally affected by this condition. On the contrary, the reverse is closer to the truth. Once again, the hormone androgen is responsible. Later on, in adulthood, acne affects men and women more or less equally.

It'll go away on its own - or will it? There's yet another common misconception that the development of acne is just a phase and will ultimately run its course and disappear. It's one you'd probably be tempted to believe, but unfortunately that's not quite the case. Although generally speaking, acne does clear up when hormonal imbalances stabilise, for some people it remains a lifelong problem.

Acne and diet - sorry, wrong number! Although the development of acne has often been thought to have a connection with diet, there has been no scientific evidence to suggest that this is so. It's certainly true that some foods have a detrimental effect on the skin to varying degrees from person to person. In such cases, the food in question could be avoided, particularly if it stimulates an allergic reaction, which may show up as rashes and other skin eruptions.

Scrub, scrub! Right or wrong? Believing that an outbreak of acne is the result of poor standards of hygiene, many people place are overenthusiastic about cleansing the skin. This is not such a good idea as too much cleansing could make matters worse, when the problem may not have been all that bad in the first place.

While we're on the subject of cleanliness, let's look at yet another illusion - that sensitive skin needs to be washed frequently. This is not so and will only create more problems, as sensitive skin requires gentle handling.

A stitch in time. There's a popular belief that an eruption of acne must be allowed to recede before anything is done about it. This again is a mistake, because acne can be treated, and if you're not careful to nip it in the bud, you could end up with permanent scars. In fact, the sooner you act, the sooner you'll be able to identify the treatment that works for you, and switch to something else if your first choice is not effective.

Two and two do not always add up. Once myths take hold, you never know what you might hear next. Here's another one - acne may be caused by stress - once again untrue unless you reason that acne appears to be characteristic of the teenage years, which are known to be stressful because of all the hormonal changes taking place. But it's the hormones and not the stress that cause an outbreak of acne.

Ban the tan. Last but not least, let's look to the sun and see what we come up with. Sure enough, people have often convinced themselves that a suntan will cure acne. However, in reality, the fact is that many substances used to treat acne increase the sensitivity of the skin to ultraviolet rays. The body reacts to tanning by increasing the production of sebum to soothe the skin - and you are faced with an increased risk of developing acne all over again!

So, relax and take another look at your problem and you'll probably agree that all is not lost - far from it. With a little extra care, you may even find yourself talking about your acne in the past tense!