Why Do I Have Acne?

It sucks, I know.
There isn't a whole lot anyone can say beyond the fact that no one wants acne and it's a shame so many of us have to endure it. But let's take a moment to understand it.

For starters, your body has several ways it cleanses itself and removes unnecessary or harmful toxins. One of which is via the pores. Skin pores allow the body and bloodstream to jettison toxins before they even have to make it to the liver and kidneys, namely oils. This is happening all the time, throughout life. However, at the onset of puberty and the firestorm of new hormones and chemicals raging inside the body, there is an increase in the amount of excess oils in the body that need to be released.

With an extra amount of oil coming through your pores, especially those with larger and more concentrated areas of pore follicles, some clogging and congestion can occur. If a pore gets clogged up by too much oil trying to get our or a foreign contaminant like dirt, the skin does its own natural course-correction to protect itself. It sort of scabs over with what we call a pimple to protect the vulnerable pore that is backed up. This helps the skin prevent infection. It's a lot like a traffic jam at an off-ramp. So the traffic control shuts off the ramp to avoid causing further problems on the overall highway.

This unsightly result can be different from person to person based on genetics, diet, and personal body chemistry.

The important thing is not to feel at fault, alone, insecure, or embarrassed about this because 87% of teenagers have to deal with acne in some form or another. It's a universal thing in the modern age.