This is a dreaded word for almost everyone.
It refers to blemishes that we get on the skin like pimples and blackheads.
Although most people get it in their teens, it can also appear in people of other ages too.
There are several causes of acne - diet, hormonal imbalance, bacteria, hygiene, stress and several other habits.
These can make those ugly pimples appear on our faces and other parts of our body too.
Hygiene is one of the most important factors.
You should clean your face everyday to remove the dirt, pollution, make-up, dead cells and excess oil that is collected on the skin, using gentle exfoliating natural or chemical scrubs.
This ensures that all the harmful factors do not get caught on your skin and cause acne.
Eat healthy foods.
Very fatty food, junk food also increases your acne.
You should eat a lot of vegetables and fruits.
Vitamin A, B, zinc and selenium are very good for your skin and your hair too.
You can get them in vegetables, nuts, legumes, almonds and whole grains apart from other sources.
Make sure your diet is balanced and your digestive system works well; this will ensure that the waste produced will be thrown out properly.
If this does not happen the body will excrete the waste through acne.
Apart from this, drink a lot of water to hydrate your body and skin.
Another main cause for acne is stress and bad sleeping habits.
Your body needs a good rest.
If you are stressed out or you do not sleep enough, the body's hormones are over produced to keep up with what you need and this causes pimples.
So allow yourself to relax, sleep enough hours and exercise.
This balances your hormones, making your skin much better.
If you have pimples, avoid touching them or popping them.
It only irritates your skin more.
Instead of popping them try zapping them out with toothpaste or shaving creams.
These dry out the pimple.
You can wash the area in the morning and the pimple will be gone.
Choose your face washes and soaps carefully.
Do not use very harsh and dry products; this will dry out too much of your skin increasing the oil production on the skin, which leads to larger amount of dead oily skin which will only cause more acne.
Use good toners and astringents, they will clean your face and tighten up the pores.
Again, if you are prone to pimples, avoid having hairstyles that have hair over the forehead.
Instead keep your face clear of hair.
You can try to use antibiotics to help with acne.
However, you need to remember that the body builds up resistance for antibiotics.
So you might have to increase the dosage.
On top of that, they also kill the healthy bacteria that are needed for digestion, causing more acne.
The best thing to do is to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle to keep acne off your face.