Essential oils against acne 

After summer and sun exposure, adolescents, but not only, sometimes suffer from acne breakouts a few weeks after returning from vacation.

What are the causes of acne ?

Acne is an inflammatory skin reaction. Stress and hormones are important factors that can lead to the appearance of pimples.

Your body responds to stress by making more cortisol (the stress hormone), which over-stimulates the sebaceous glands.

What are the sebaceous glands used for ?

The skin consists of 3 layers; epidermis, dermis and hypodermis.

The tactile nerves, sweat glands and sebaceous glands are found in the dermis .

The function of these sebaceous glands is to produce sebum ; an oily and toxic substance whose primary purpose is to waterproof the skin, protect it from microbes and prevent it from drying out.

However, this sebum is then stored in your pores, where bacteria are trapped. When the pore bursts under the skin, it causes inflammation around the affected area, forming a cyst on the surface.

As a result, acne is a common and chronic dermatological disease of the pilosebaceous system (which includes the hair follicle, the hair shaft, and the sebum-secreting sebaceous gland at the root of the hair).

It usually occurs in adolescence and is linked to hypersecretion of sebum (hyper-seborrhea) and keratinization abnormalities leading to obstruction of the excretory duct of the pilosebaceous follicle, and the formation of comedones.

These so-called “retentional” lesions can be complicated by inflammation, secondary to an anaerobic bacteria of the skin flora, Propionibacterium acnes, which proliferates in the sebum. This often chronic disease is considered to require induction treatment followed by follow-up, with possible maintenance treatment.

Does diet play a role in acne ?

Food plays a very important role in the beauty of our skin. While some people can eat very fat and have a porcelain complexion, this is unfortunately far from general.

When eating “anti-acne”, it is also important to avoid foods with a high GI, which promote the appearance of pimples (the glycemic index being calculated by the proportion of carbohydrate absorbed by the body).

Here is the list of foods to avoid to maintain beautiful skin :

• Everything industrial: cookies, pastries ...
• Steamed potatoes, fries, mash
• Bread (white or wholemeal)
• White sugar
• White rice
• Cooked carrots
• Corn flakes (hey yes!)
• Polenta
• Meat and especially cold meats should be avoided when you are prone to pimples
• The alcohol
• Cigarette
• Chocolate
• Crisps and all the aperitif cakes
• The mayonnaise
• Nutella
• In short, junk food in general ...

But let's be reassured, there are foods that are a source of vitamin B6 ; perfect ally in case of skin problems.

Vitamin B6, also called pyroxine, helps prevent and reduce skin disorders.

It is naturally found in :

• Yeasts
• Peas
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• The cabbage
• The mushrooms
• It is also advisable to drink plenty of water.