Acne is a common and annoying problem than can lead to issues with self-esteem and confidence. But there are many things you can do to better deal with your acne outbreaks.

1. Learn what causes acne. Understanding the causes and risk factors of acne can greatly help you determine how likely you are to experience an outbreak and how to avoid one. However, the actual cause of acne is not known. Contributing factors include:

• Overproduction of sebum, or skin oil
• Irregular shedding of dead skin cells
• Buildup of bacteria
• Inflammation or infection

There are many additional factors that may contribute to acne outbreaks, including:

• Hormonal changes. These may include changes due to:
  
  
• • Puberty. This involves increased secretion of androgens, or male sex hormones, in both males and females, resulting in increased size and activity of sebaceous glands.
    
    
  • Menstruation. Women and girls may experience acne outbreaks two to seven days prior to their periods.
    
    
  • Pregnancy. Women who are pregnant may notice that their acne either gets worse or improves.
    
    
  • Stress. Stress may affect hormone levels, causing people undergoing high levels of stress to experience an outbreak or worsening of acne.
    
    
  • Certain medications. Medications such as corticosteroids, anabolic steroids and barbiturates may lead to acne outbreaks. Women starting or stopping birth control pills may experience either an improvement or a worsening of acne.
    
    
• Heredity. Severe acne may have a genetic component. This means that if your parent(s) had severe acne, you have a higher risk of developing it, too.
  
  
• Allergies and sensitivities. In some people, food and other allergies or intolerances may cause acne outbreaks. Also, some people are more sensitive to the bacteria that cause acne.
  
  
• Certain chemicals and other substances. Exposure to halogens, such as chlorine, fluorine, iodine or bromine, and tar may lead to acne outbreaks. Direct skin exposure to greasy or oily substances, such as oils from the scalp or hair or mineral or cooking oils, and certain cosmetics may cause acne.
  
  
• Friction or pressure on skin. Friction and pressure, such as that caused by telephones, helmets, tight collars and backpacks, may lead to acne outbreaks. Irritation from picking or squeezing acne blemishes, scrubbing the skin too hard or using harsh soaps or chemicals may also cause or worsen acne.
  
  
• Environmental factors. Humidity, pollution, changes in the season and other environmental factors may lead to an outbreak of acne.