True Health Project

Acne is a warning sign that something's not right somewhere within the physical and psychological realms of your being.

Acne is not caused by bacterial infection, acne is what causes the bacterial infection. The bacteria, Propionibacterium Acnes (P. Acnes), are a normal part of your skin surface. In fact, they are a beneficial resident on everybody’s skin surface – their job is to repel other bacteria, which are way more harmful for you, and to maintain the natural balance of your skin. Even if you don’t suffer from acne, the bacteria are there as guardians and play a role in helping to keep your skin elastic.
Our skin’s relationship with P. Acnes is symbiotic – a “you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours” way of getting along. In a normal biological role these acne bacteria feed on the oil from the sebum glands and on perspiration. In turn, they protect our skin from invaders and supply chemicals that keep our skin supple.

Also, P. Acnes, is not contagious – we all have it. Your friend or neighbor can’t claim you are the fault of  their acne breakout. Some of the bacteria can even be found in our digestive track. The case is the same with Streptococcus Bacteria. We all have it. So, why don’t we all get tonsillitis or a strep throat? The reason is that, like acne bacteria, it will not pose a problem unless the conditions in the body are set up to allow a specific environment that encourages the growth of the strep.

P. Acnes bacteria encourages acne formations if the production of oil (sebum) on the face is excessive. A surplus of this oil is prompted by any number of changes in the body. So, to prevent acne, you do not want to kill the bacteria, but you do want the amount of bacteria on your skin to exist at an optimal balance. To optimize or balance the oil secretions, you need to understand and control your response to hormonal, nutritional, environmental and even psychological challenges. Blood toxicity plays a role, too.

Here are the mechanics of acne vulgaris and the role P. Acnes play. Due to overproduction of oil (sebum), the pore or hair follicle becomes clogged and the normal skin bacteria will start to grow unabated in the blocked pore. This growth causes the bacteria to alter the composition of the trapped sebum, converting it to free fatty acids that irritate the skin.

Blood toxins play a role, too. Often, your body uses your skin to rid itself of blood toxins that are not being eliminated in other ways. Add blood toxins to the combination of too much sebum and the out-of-control growth of P. Acnes, and you’ve got some big red problems in store for your skin. The body then calls upon white and red blood cells to defend itself. This inflammatory response results in the  symptoms of acne that can include blackheads, whiteheads, pustules (pimples or zits) and cysts.

Medicines applied to the acne kills the bacteria superficially, thereby reducing the inflammation but does not assure you of acne free skin permanently. Antibiotics will kill the bacteria for the short term – along with a number of other bacteria that our bodies need. Also, antibiotics get less effective the more they are used. To ensure that your skin remains acne free permanently, you need to restore the internal balance of your system. Simultaneously, the bacteria on the surface of the skin should be maintained at a normal level (P. Acnes, too!) so that your complexion becomes radiant once again.

Thus, acne is a presentation of symptoms, a warning sign that something’s not right somewhere within the physical and psychological realms of your being. In other words, P. Acnes, while it does a very messy job of it, is simply the messenger telling you that something needs to be fixed.

Photo by chego101