Dear Counselor, what causes a boy or a girl to have pimples? What can I do to prevent pimples?
Submitted by Counselor at SchoolNet on 3rd June, 2009
Our skin consists of millions of tiny pores. Each pore consists of a hair follicle and sebaceous or oil producing gland. Pimples form when the skin pores get clogged. Clogging occurs when the sebum or oil produced by the sebaceous gland cannot leave the pore as it normally would (to moisture the skin and hair). An obstruction forms in the pore. The blocked oil stimulates bacteria (which live on everyone’s skin and generally cause no problems) to multiply and cause the surrounding tissue around the pore to swell and form a pimple.
Clogging of the pores can be a result of:
- Dead skin cells building up.
- Dirt.
- Oily, pore-clogging products like makeup.
- Overproduction of oil by the sebaceous gland as a result of hormonal changes.
- A combination of all the above.
Many adolescents are very prone to pimples and many spend a lot of their time and money trying to prevent pimple outbreaks. A major contributor to the pimple outbreak is the elevation of hormones, usually occurring during puberty or menstrual cycles in girls. The hormones over stimulates the production of oily substance (called sedum) by the sebaceous glands resulting in clogging of the pores.
It is not advisable for you to attempt to extract the sedum yourself as this is likely to led for further infection and scaring. There may be no way to completely prevent pimples as some people are more genetically inclined to have them and others are not. But there are measures you can do to reduce pimple outbreaks.
- Try not to squeeze or pop the pimples. The bacteria from your hands can get into the pores which may spread the infection.
- Avoid wearing tight clothes. These prevent your skin from “breathing” and can contribute to oil, dirt and bacteria buildup.
- Gently wash your face at night. This should get your face rid of the surface oil, dead cells and dirt.
- Remember to take off any makeup before you go to bed.
- Drink some fresh water every day.
- Get advice from a healthy worker in case of a pimple outbreak.