Acne Not just a teenage affliction, pimples can crop up on adults, too.
Most experts agree that acne is linked to heredity and hormone levels.
Hormones stimulate oil production in the glands around hair follicles, the ducts surrounding these follicles become clogged, and a whitehead or blackhead results. It's when one of these skin clogs becomes inflamed that you get a raised, red pimple. Most of the time, occasional bouts of whiteheads, blackheads, or pimples can be cleared up rather quickly and painlessly with simple home treatment. For an unfortunate minority, however, acne can cause extremely painful, cyst-like lesions that leave deep scars. Such severe cases usually require the attention of a dermatologist.