Breakouts and congestion affect most people at some point in their life. However, if left untreated, congestion and breakouts can advance to acne. This chronic inflammatory disorder is where certain hormones cause the oil-producing glands next to hair follicles in the skin to produce abnormally larger amounts of oil and a faster cell turnover. This changes the activity of a usually harmless skin bacterium (P. acne), which becomes more aggressive and can result in inflammation and pus. The result is spots, oily skin and sometimes skin that’s hot or painful to touch.

Acne typically affects the areas of the body that produce oily serum, namely, the face, back and chest.