What is Acne?

Acne can easily be described as the result of the blockage of a skin pore. (see figure 1) The blockage is typically caused by excess sebum and/or dead skin cells which haven't exited the hair follicle via the skin pore. (Note: Sebum is a naturally occurring fatty oil that moisturizes the skin and hair. Without it, your hair would be thin and brittle, and your skin would be dry and hard).
What happens is that as your body continually replaces it's skin, sometimes the skin cells do not shed evenly causing a blockage. The sebum (oils) keep producing in the hair follicle and when these oils cannot exit via the pore, they back-up in the follicle and swelling occurs.... and you have a pimple !
This is a basic description of the most common type of acne. There are other more severe types, like Cystic Acne, but in all cases, acne control should be by way of a treatment program, because squeezing pimples can actually magnify the problem, causing infection and further swelling.... and even scarring.
Acne affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from childhood, through the teen years and right through to middle/old age. The best thing is, acne control is progressing at a phenomenal rate and today's treatments are curing all types and intensities of acne.