acne: causes, symptoms and how Rosehip Oil helps
Acne is a condition that mostly affects younger people between the ages of 11-18 years, however about 20% of cases occur in adults. It can be physically uncomfortable and embarrassing and have a negative impact on self-esteem in both adults and teenagers alike. Therefore, it’s worth continuing to seek ways to prevent acne from getting worse or lessening the possibility of scarring.
The good news is that Rosehip Oil has an important role to play here. Rosehip Oil has been shown to improve acne, reducing the inflammation and the potential for scarring. Not only that, it also reduces the appearance of existing skin scars, after the acne has subsided. Read on to find out more.
What is acne?
Acne is a disease of the skin which occurs when the production of sebum in the skin gets out of balance. Sebum is the waxy and oily substance that is produced by sebaceous glands to lubricate and protect your skin and to make it waterproof. The right amount of sebum makes the skin look healthy, too much makes it oily and too little makes it dry.
What causes acne?
Acne is basically caused by the overstimulation of sebaceous glands which are responsible for producing sebum. Sebum is produced in tiny sebaceous glands in the hair follicles and certain hormones such as testosterone and some progesterones cause excessive production of sebum.
Under normal circumstances, sebum travels up the hair follicle and onto the surface of the skin. With acne, sebum becomes trapped within the hair follicle along with dead skin cells, becoming a breeding ground for bacteria. The bacteria causes inflammation, redness and swelling of the follicle and the surrounding skin. It’s made worse by picking and squeezing the pimple, this can spread infection and cause severe scarring.
There are several different types of acne conditions including:
- blackheads – blocked pores with a collection of dead cells in the pore.
- whiteheads or comedones – a sebum build-up causing a lump which remains on the surface of the skin.
- pimples or papules – the sebum has penetrated into the layers beneath the surface of the skin causing inflammation.
- cysts – this is the most severe form of acne and are inflamed lumps forming deeper in the skin which can be very painful.
How does Rosehip Oil help acne?
Stripping the oils from your skin makes acne worse. Rosehip Oil balances and calms the inflammation that is typical of acne.
If the skin’s oil production system is already out of balance with the over-stimulation of the sebaceous glands, scrubbing the skin to remove the oil will only exacerbate the problem. It’s tempting to want to remove all excess oil from the skin when you have acne, but this only causes the sebaceous glands to produce even more oil as a response.
Our skin needs a balance of oils for protection and so it will produce more oils to compensate if they’re removed. That’s why Rosehip Oil has more than one benefit for acne prone skin.
Rosehip oil contains the following compounds which help to relieve acne:
- A high level of linoleic acid which is an Omega-6 fatty acid - people with acne have skin deficient in linoleic acid and linoleic acid has been shown to reduce the size of comedones.
- Vitamin A is a key component of Rosehip Oil – shown to minimise the amount of sebum that your skin produces.
- Essential fatty acids such as oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, gamma linolenic acid to reduce inflammation.
- The essential fatty acids also minimise further scarring and can reduce the appearance of existing scars by promoting new skin growth.
After cleansing, apply Kosmea’s Certified Organic Rosehip Oil to damp skin and gently massage into the skin. Over time, the Rosehip Oil will help to reduce inflammation, repair damaged skin and prevent acne scarring.
Kosmea’s natural skincare products that won’t strip oils from your skin, but will balance instead
Kosmea Natural Skincare Range will help to maintain the balance of oils in your skin, not strip the oils which makes acne worse. Kosmea’s Clarifying Facial Wash and Hydrating Rosewater Mist will cleanse, purify and prevent your skin from further break-outs.
