125 replies to this topic

[Packerfan785]

I have heard acne is caused by the following:

1) Too much sebum (Why is too much produced?)

2) Build Up of Toxins

3) Hormones

4) Allergies

Which one is true? (Or are multiple true?)

[Rubbish]

I have heard acne is caused by the following:

1) Too much sebum (Why is too much produced?)

2) Build Up of Toxins

3) Hormones

4) Allergies

Which one is true? (Or are multiple true?)

1) & 3) Because of the anabolic state from the western highly refined high calorie diet!

[dj23]

I don't know exactly a lot about the hormonal part, but I am sure acne involves hormones or an overproduction of them. It also has something to do with our lymphatic system and digestive system not working properly to rid of toxins and junk. The lymphatic system cleans our blood and carries waste, so if the waste cannot be filtered or removed by our digestive organs (like colon and liver) then the waste is carried to our sebacious glands and they mix with the bacteria and sebum then the white blood cells attack! And boom a pimple.

I might have some of this messed up, but this is mostly what I've read

[Healthoid]

It also has something to do with our lymphatic system and digestive system not working properly to rid of toxins and junk. The lymphatic system cleans our blood and carries waste, so if the waste cannot be filtered or removed by our digestive organs (like colon and liver) then the waste is carried to our sebacious glands and they mix with the bacteria and sebum then the white blood cells attack! And boom a pimple.

Yeah I like this theory the best.

Acne = your skin removing toxins

To improve acne, you can do 2 things:

1. Reduce toxins

2. Improve your immune system so your body can better deal with the toxins

It seems like all successful holistic acne treatments work on those 2 levels.

I think the reason why some people get acne and others don't is a difference in the way the body eliminates toxins. Most people eliminate toxins through other avenues than their skin...some may even store them in fat. Which is why an unhealthy diet can lead to acne in some people, obesity in others, and many other things depending on how your body deals with unhealthy food.

[xquis3t]

None of this hormones, diet, toxins et cetera... adequately explain why Accutane (13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid) works effectively for most severe Acne.

Accutane seems to work via a sebocyte specific reaction, where the sebocytes are the cells that make up the sebaceous glands that secrete sebum (Tsukada, Schroder, Roos, Chandraratna, Reichert, Merk, Orfanos & Zouboulis, 2000). The sebocytes isomerize 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid to All-Trans-Retinoic-Acid and signal the Retinoic Acid Receptors (RARs), to have an anti-proliferative effect (Tsukada et al., 2000). Other skin cells do not respond in this way to 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid, but sebocytes do (Tsukada et al., 2000). This "anti-proliferative" effect of Accutane basically unblocks / normalises previously "hyperproliferative" skin cell functioning and formation in the area, thus unblocking the pores. From the sounds of it, there are not many people's Acne that does not respond to this "treatment". Since sebocytes isomerize 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid to All-Trans-Retinoic-Acid and signal the RARs via this pathyway (Tsukada et al., 2000), it makes sense when it gets considered that Varani, Perone, Griffiths, Inman, Fligiel & Voorhees (1994) found that "All-trans retinoic acid (RA) stimulates events in organ-cultured human skin that underlie repair", thus repairing skin damages / abnormalities to clear up the sebaceous gland related skin lesions due to damaged skin / dietary insufficiency.

It has nothing to do with toxins or hormones, really, if you consider why Accutane works, although Vitamin A does affect the immune system, and Accutane is a derivative of it, and interacts with Vitamin A metabolism endogenously when it is systemically administered (Wakelin & Maibach, 2003). Acne also seems to have little to do with sebum either, since babies can get Acne (called infantile Acne), and they apparently do not even have sebum yet. It is reported that people can have clear skin and still have high sebum production, thereby holding in some doubt any prevalent theories that sebum production in any way causes acne. Acne can not be skin releasing "toxins", rather hypercornification of the follicle walls occurs due to skin cell hyperproliferation, causing blockages in the skin (where the blockages are not due to the causes of 'Cosmetica Acne' and the like...). These blockages cause the sebum production to rupture underneath the skin, and bacteria have a field day with the damaged / ruptured follicle environment, causing an immune system reaction involving white blood cells, what we see as extra inflammation and 'pus'. The bugs have been looking for an entry point into your system, and they do so via damaged skin, it is like a feast for the bugs. The toxins are not so much due to diet, but bacterial by-products can be toxic. Bacteria always 'feasts' on damaged tissue, and many bacteria produce toxic by-products.

Unless you have a decent diet, healthy skin can not be maintained, and diseased tissue will result, which attracts bacterial 'invasion'. Therefore dietary insufficiency (lack of water and other vital nutrients) and skin damage is more at play in Acne than toxins and hormones, I think. Therefore the only reason people with 'bad' diets do not have acne, is because they lack the other necessary element for the presence of Acne - skin damage.




Tsukada, M., Schroder, M., Roos, T., Chandraratna, R., Reichert, U., Merk, H., Orfanos, C. and Zouboulis, C. 2000, 13-cis retinoic acid exerts its specific activity on human sebocytes through selective intracellular isomerization to all-trans retinoic acid and binding to retinoid acid receptors., Accessed November 2008, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1095125...ogdbfrom=pubmed.

Varani, J., Perone, P., Griffiths, C., Inman, D., Fligiel, S. and Voorhees, J. 1994, All-trans retinoic acid (RA) stimulates events in organ-cultured human skin that underlie repair. Adult skin from sun-protected and sun-exposed sites responds in an identical manner to RA while neonatal foreskin responds differently., Accessed November 2008, http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...gi?artid=294565.

Wakelin, S. and Maibach, H. 2003, Handbook of Systemic Drug Treatment In Dermatology, Accessed November 2008, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=rYyQJq...esult#PPA179,M1.

[Packerfan785]

^ Any one disagree with the above poster? ^

[AutonomousOne1980]

the real cause is still elusive, ive heard its an abnormal immune response which is before anything else, but i do not know specifics, see sweet jades posts for more info about hypersensitivity.

Also she has a suspician that it is leaky gut, that is causing the strange immune reponse, but also could be of psychological origin as well based on what is now know about psychoneuroimmunology and the brain being connected with the immune system each influencing each others function. Perhaps its your beliefs and attitude towards life, and your immune system is corresponding to those perceptions much like the nueroendocrine connection and the stress response.

But all we really know is that accutane can help for some reason or another, but is risky.

[alternativista]

Which one is true? (Or are multiple true?)

All of those are true, and then some.

[john1234]

Actually infants do have sebum. Maternal hormones can cause a temporary increase in sebum for infants, leading to infantile acne. But yes, sebum is not a cause for acne, though there is an association between the presence of acne and sebum. Just as there is for seborrheic dermatitis and sebum.

My personal theory for acne is that acneic skin is mechanically damaged. Once mechanically damaged. it is prone to insults from environment, habits, and genes. It's a spiral downward. Exposure to irritants from moisturizers, cleansers, and soaps weaken the skin, decreasing its resistance and increasing its vulnerability to dietary insults, to controversial habits such as masturbation, to sun exposure, and to even more mechanical insults by the sufferer to "fix the skin."

I sincerely believe that much of our acne problem is caused by cleansers and topicals; at least for many of us. I believe that washing our skin with antibacterial soaps kill off important bacteria that activate the enzymes that dissolve the glue between your cells. Through the use of harsh acids and bacteriocides and mechanical removal of bacteria, the pimples are temporarily suppressed, but you will always be acne prone. Have you noticed that some spots just keep on reoccurring?

i believe the flaking effect that many people experience after quitting cleansers is a good thing. The flakes show that the skin is finally exfoliating properly; it's evidence that the bacteria is digesting the scales of the skin. Sure there will some initial breakouts, but even accutane does that. I am pretty optimistic that the skin is self-healing.

None of this hormones, diet, toxins et cetera... adequately explain why Accutane (13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid) works effectively for most severe Acne.

Accutane seems to work via a sebocyte specific reaction, where the sebocytes are the cells that make up the sebaceous glands that secrete sebum (Tsukada, Schroder, Roos, Chandraratna, Reichert, Merk, Orfanos & Zouboulis, 2000). The sebocytes isomerize 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid to All-Trans-Retinoic-Acid and signal the Retinoic Acid Receptors (RARs), to have an anti-proliferative effect (Tsukada et al., 2000). Other skin cells do not respond in this way to 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid, but sebocytes do (Tsukada et al., 2000). This "anti-proliferative" effect of Accutane basically unblocks / normalises previously "hyperproliferative" skin cell functioning and formation in the area, thus unblocking the pores. From the sounds of it, there are not many people's Acne that does not respond to this "treatment". Since sebocytes isomerize 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid to All-Trans-Retinoic-Acid and signal the RARs via this pathyway (Tsukada et al., 2000), it makes sense when it gets considered that Varani, Perone, Griffiths, Inman, Fligiel & Voorhees (1994) found that "All-trans retinoic acid (RA) stimulates events in organ-cultured human skin that underlie repair", thus repairing skin damages / abnormalities to clear up the sebaceous gland related skin lesions due to damaged skin / dietary insufficiency.

It has nothing to do with toxins or hormones, really, if you consider why Accutane works, although Vitamin A does affect the immune system, and Accutane is a derivative of it, and interacts with Vitamin A metabolism endogenously when it is systemically administered (Wakelin & Maibach, 2003). Acne also seems to have little to do with sebum either, since babies can get Acne (called infantile Acne), and they apparently do not even have sebum yet. It is reported that people can have clear skin and still have high sebum production, thereby holding in some doubt any prevalent theories that sebum production in any way causes acne. Acne can not be skin releasing "toxins", rather hypercornification of the follicle walls occurs due to skin cell hyperproliferation, causing blockages in the skin (where the blockages are not due to the causes of 'Cosmetica Acne' and the like...). These blockages cause the sebum production to rupture underneath the skin, and bacteria have a field day with the damaged / ruptured follicle environment, causing an immune system reaction involving white blood cells, what we see as extra inflammation and 'pus'. The bugs have been looking for an entry point into your system, and they do so via damaged skin, it is like a feast for the bugs. The toxins are not so much due to diet, but bacterial by-products can be toxic. Bacteria always 'feasts' on damaged tissue, and many bacteria produce toxic by-products.

Unless you have a decent diet, healthy skin can not be maintained, and diseased tissue will result, which attracts bacterial 'invasion'. Therefore dietary insufficiency (lack of water and other vital nutrients) and skin damage is more at play in Acne than toxins and hormones, I think. Therefore the only reason people with 'bad' diets do not have acne, is because they lack the other necessary element for the presence of Acne - skin damage.




Tsukada, M., Schroder, M., Roos, T., Chandraratna, R., Reichert, U., Merk, H., Orfanos, C. and Zouboulis, C. 2000, 13-cis retinoic acid exerts its specific activity on human sebocytes through selective intracellular isomerization to all-trans retinoic acid and binding to retinoid acid receptors., Accessed November 2008, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1095125...ogdbfrom=pubmed.

Varani, J., Perone, P., Griffiths, C., Inman, D., Fligiel, S. and Voorhees, J. 1994, All-trans retinoic acid (RA) stimulates events in organ-cultured human skin that underlie repair. Adult skin from sun-protected and sun-exposed sites responds in an identical manner to RA while neonatal foreskin responds differently., Accessed November 2008, http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...gi?artid=294565.

Wakelin, S. and Maibach, H. 2003, Handbook of Systemic Drug Treatment In Dermatology, Accessed November 2008, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=rYyQJq...esult#PPA179,M1.

[Packerfan785]

So if diet doesn't seem to make an impact I should look at my immune system next?

[AcneMonster]

None of this hormones, diet, toxins et cetera... adequately explain why Accutane (13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid) works effectively for most severe Acne.

Accutane seems to work via a sebocyte specific reaction, where the sebocytes are the cells that make up the sebaceous glands that secrete sebum (Tsukada, Schroder, Roos, Chandraratna, Reichert, Merk, Orfanos & Zouboulis, 2000). The sebocytes isomerize 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid to All-Trans-Retinoic-Acid and signal the Retinoic Acid Receptors (RARs), to have an anti-proliferative effect (Tsukada et al., 2000). Other skin cells do not respond in this way to 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid, but sebocytes do (Tsukada et al., 2000). This "anti-proliferative" effect of Accutane basically unblocks / normalises previously "hyperproliferative" skin cell functioning and formation in the area, thus unblocking the pores. From the sounds of it, there are not many people's Acne that does not respond to this "treatment". Since sebocytes isomerize 13-Cis-Retinoic-Acid to All-Trans-Retinoic-Acid and signal the RARs via this pathyway (Tsukada et al., 2000), it makes sense when it gets considered that Varani, Perone, Griffiths, Inman, Fligiel & Voorhees (1994) found that "All-trans retinoic acid (RA) stimulates events in organ-cultured human skin that underlie repair", thus repairing skin damages / abnormalities to clear up the sebaceous gland related skin lesions due to damaged skin / dietary insufficiency.

It has nothing to do with toxins or hormones, really, if you consider why Accutane works, although Vitamin A does affect the immune system, and Accutane is a derivative of it, and interacts with Vitamin A metabolism endogenously when it is systemically administered (Wakelin & Maibach, 2003). Acne also seems to have little to do with sebum either, since babies can get Acne (called infantile Acne), and they apparently do not even have sebum yet. It is reported that people can have clear skin and still have high sebum production, thereby holding in some doubt any prevalent theories that sebum production in any way causes acne. Acne can not be skin releasing "toxins", rather hypercornification of the follicle walls occurs due to skin cell hyperproliferation, causing blockages in the skin (where the blockages are not due to the causes of 'Cosmetica Acne' and the like...). These blockages cause the sebum production to rupture underneath the skin, and bacteria have a field day with the damaged / ruptured follicle environment, causing an immune system reaction involving white blood cells, what we see as extra inflammation and 'pus'. The bugs have been looking for an entry point into your system, and they do so via damaged skin, it is like a feast for the bugs. The toxins are not so much due to diet, but bacterial by-products can be toxic. Bacteria always 'feasts' on damaged tissue, and many bacteria produce toxic by-products.

Unless you have a decent diet, healthy skin can not be maintained, and diseased tissue will result, which attracts bacterial 'invasion'. Therefore dietary insufficiency (lack of water and other vital nutrients) and skin damage is more at play in Acne than toxins and hormones, I think. Therefore the only reason people with 'bad' diets do not have acne, is because they lack the other necessary element for the presence of Acne - skin damage.




Tsukada, M., Schroder, M., Roos, T., Chandraratna, R., Reichert, U., Merk, H., Orfanos, C. and Zouboulis, C. 2000, 13-cis retinoic acid exerts its specific activity on human sebocytes through selective intracellular isomerization to all-trans retinoic acid and binding to retinoid acid receptors., Accessed November 2008, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1095125...ogdbfrom=pubmed.

Varani, J., Perone, P., Griffiths, C., Inman, D., Fligiel, S. and Voorhees, J. 1994, All-trans retinoic acid (RA) stimulates events in organ-cultured human skin that underlie repair. Adult skin from sun-protected and sun-exposed sites responds in an identical manner to RA while neonatal foreskin responds differently., Accessed November 2008, http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...gi?artid=294565.

Wakelin, S. and Maibach, H. 2003, Handbook of Systemic Drug Treatment In Dermatology, Accessed November 2008, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=rYyQJq...esult#PPA179,M1.

Yup!

I truly believe that it is a genetic skin disorder that the body sheds skin way too fast causing the sebocytes to produce more oil to push this stuff out but instead backing up and traping bacteria which instates a inflammatory reation that makes the problem worse. So... fix the first problem, normalise the skin shedding and liquify the sebum so that it flows more freely and thinly like normal people?

We need to single out what is not normal compared to everyone else. We all have sebum, shedding skin, P. Acnes bacteria, and in a most of cases people with acne these are all present like everyone else exept people with acne have far greater hyperproliferative skin shedding so what does that tell you?

[Adam82]

The real cause can be totally different for everyone.

Don't worry about what causes other people's acne. Find out what causes YOUR skin problems. Reading other peoples' accounts only goes so far.

[xquis3t]

john1234: I agree totally with you (almost), especially when you said that "acneic skin is mechanically damaged". I also agree with you about environmental 'insults' such as sun damage, cleansers and the like... However, I disagree with you about 'infantile acne' and 'baby acne', because you said that babies have sebum, yet "Babies excrete sebum at the same rate as adults", only "...in the first few weeks of life" (BabyCentre, 2006). "After the first few weeks sebum excretion stops almost completely until puberty, leaving the ...skin less protected and more vulnerable" (BabyCentre, 2006).

Therefore all the years before you got Acne, where you did not have sebum, meant there was more skin damage occuring, because the skin was "less protected and more vulnerable" (BabyCentre, 2006), so when the sebum production occurs in adolescence after a long period of having no sebum and sub-optimal skin protection, things are so badly mechanically damaged that Acne occurs at this time.

Infantile Acne does not only occur in the time period where the babies have sebum excretion "in the first few weeks of life" (BabyCentre, 2006), it can still start after they are no longer secreting much sebum. Therefore sebum can not be the cause of Acne, but when its excretion occurs in 'mechanically' damaged skin, it can not occur properly, and you get Acne. However, Acne can still occur without sebum as after the infants stop secreting sebum and while they are still pre-puberty, they can still get Acne.

Mechanically damaged skin (or things on your skin that block normal skin mechanisms) is the difference between people with Acne and people without Acne then, it seems like it has to be! AcneMonster said that "people with acne have far greater hyperproliferative skin shedding so what does that tell you?", and all I can say is that cellular hyperproliferation is associated with cancer and tumours, and Accutane was originally designed as a chemotherapy (anti-cancer) drug.



BabyCentre, 2006, Water-only bathing for a baby, Accessed November 2008, http://www.babycenter.com.au/baby/newborn/...ybathingexpert/.

[Choof_Chomper]

john1234: I agree totally with you (almost), especially when you said that "acneic skin is mechanically damaged". I also agree with you about environmental 'insults' such as sun damage, cleansers and the like... However, I disagree with you about 'infantile acne' and 'baby acne', because you said that babies have sebum, yet "Babies excrete sebum at the same rate as adults", only "...in the first few weeks of life" (BabyCentre, 2006). "After the first few weeks sebum excretion stops almost completely until puberty, leaving the ...skin less protected and more vulnerable" (BabyCentre, 2006).

Therefore all the years before you got Acne, where you did not have sebum, meant there was more skin damage occuring, because the skin was "less protected and more vulnerable" (BabyCentre, 2006), so when the sebum production occurs in adolescence after a long period of having no sebum and sub-optimal skin protection, things are so badly mechanically damaged that Acne occurs at this time.

Infantile Acne does not only occur in the time period where the babies have sebum excretion "in the first few weeks of life" (BabyCentre, 2006), it can still start after they are no longer secreting much sebum. Therefore sebum can not be the cause of Acne, but when its excretion occurs in 'mechanically' damaged skin, it can not occur properly, and you get Acne. However, Acne can still occur without sebum as after the infants stop secreting sebum and while they are still pre-puberty, they can still get Acne.

Mechanically damaged skin (or things on your skin that block normal skin mechanisms) is the difference between people with Acne and people without Acne then, it seems like it has to be! AcneMonster said that "people with acne have far greater hyperproliferative skin shedding so what does that tell you?", and all I can say is that cellular hyperproliferation is associated with cancer and tumours, and Accutane was originally designed as a chemotherapy (anti-cancer) drug.



BabyCentre, 2006, Water-only bathing for a baby, Accessed November 2008, http://www.babycenter.com.au/baby/newborn/...ybathingexpert/.

acne cant occur without sebum bro. period.

[xquis3t]

You might be technically right, as infantile Acne is actually a good example of that, despite the mistake I originally made when I referred to it, seeing as they get Acne when they have their initial infant sebum production period. However, if the previous article I linked was correct in saying that babies only have sebum in the first few weeks, then babies that get acne that starts after 6 months --> 2 years do so without much (if any) sebum production. Perhaps the Acne starts in them after that time period if the sebum they first produced during the first few weeks goes 'stale' in the follicles due to improper nursing care, and then it attracts bacteria?

There is a difference between infantile Acne and baby Acne apparently, as babies can get it after the first few weeks where they had sebum production, like when they are 6 months old, 2 years old et cetera..., and if the previous article I linked was correct, they do not have much (or any) sebum to get Acne. If this is the case, then the damaged skin allows for bacterial infection and acne-like symptoms. On the subject of acne-like symptoms, how many times would infection with yeasts and staphylococcul 'folliculitis' get confused with Acne?

I am not so sure that acne can not occur when there is no sebum, baby Acne that starts after the initial period of sebum production occurs, when there is hardly any (or no) sebum, would seem to disprove that, see: http://www.blurtit.com/q482528.html. At one years old, according to the article I linked in my previous post, the baby has no or very little sebum to cause Acne.

Either way, skin has to be damaged in order for it to be infected with bacteria. I think that the reason Acne starts so much at puberty is because the skin has been vulnerable and getting damaged all the years there was no pre-pubertal / post-infantile sebum production, maybe because there was no 'acid mantle' for the skin, which is sebum combined with sweat, and the skin was less protected against environmental damages, so when the sebum production starts, the skin mechanisms are already damaged, and Acne, rupturing follicles et cetera... can occur.

Infantile acne (which differs in my interpretation from baby Acne) is not due to hormones either, infants do not have measurable levels of sex hormones at that age yet really. Something about the infants birth and period of initial care damaged their skin, and then they must have got infected follicles. That time period when infantile Acne is seen is also when the infant has under-developed immune system activity. Compromised immune systems commonly pre-dispose humans to skin diseases and skin problems, and it is also apparently the immune system that repairs damaged skin and all other things in your body that gets damaged, since the immune system provides "...for tissue maintenance and repair of injuries" (Mescher & Neff, 2005).

Therefore skin damage and the ineffectiveness of the repair systems and the immune system to coordinate skin repair is what causes Acne, it must be. Therefore, compromised immune systems make it more likely for a person to have skin problems, but they will not occur unless there is sufficient skin damage occurring in the first place. Therefore, skin damage (whatever the cause of skin damage is) causes Acne, combined with ineffective immune system activity and insufficient skin repair due to bad diets.



Mescher, A. and Neff, A. 2005, Regenerative capacity and the developing immune system, Accessed November 2008, http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17608933.

[Choof_Chomper]

says infantile acne generally caused by lingering maternal hormones. same thing

[xquis3t]

Well, that might be wrong, because exactly how do the maternal hormones influence anything? How then, when the baby does not have "maternal hormones" lingering and no sebum, can they still get Acne at one year old, and at 2 years old et cetera...? Infants also have weak immune systems, and the immune system is somewhat responsible for repairing (regenerating) and maintaining healthy skin tissues.

Let's face it, if the cause was known as it is reported to be - hormones, then the problem would be solved with managing the hormones, but it is not. Therefore I do not think it is hormones, but the immune system's regenerative capacity combined with skin damage. Slowed down skin cell turnover is also implicated in Acne - suggesting insufficient immune system related skin regeneration. Birth Control Pills (some of which cause / worsen Acne) do not only affect hormones, but they also affect the immune system, it is the same with steroids. Steroid use encourages infectious diseases, by being immunosuppressive, and steroids are commonly related to Acne.

No skin damage and good immune system skin regeneration would probably equal no Acne.

'Hormones' are such a broad category, because it implicates every single chemical messenger in the body pretty much, so it seems like it is easier for people to just blame everything on hormones.

[Choof_Chomper]

sebum directly correlates with hormone levels

[xquis3t]

No, I do not think that I am an "idiot".

Baby Acne that occurs when there is no sebum (post-infantile sebum production and pre-pubertal sebum production) disproves that sebum causes Acne. "Hormones" is such a broad category, it needs to be more specific.

"Lingering Maternal Hormones" that you referred to probably do not even contain much "androgens" for the little baby to produce sebum either. People that have lots of sebum do not necessarily have Acne. You can heal Acne and still have sebum production (Benzoyl Peroxide reportedly actually increases sebum production by 20 or more percent in people with Acne, see: http://www3.intersci...al...1&SRETRY=0). I doubt that "lingering maternal hormones" have any effect on the rate of sebum production in infants that get infantile Acne, unless the "maternal hormones" were strange and affected the immune system of the infant.

Even then, unless there was skin damage that caused follicle problems, sebum mechanisms would not cause Acne. It is not sebum that causes Acne but blockages. Acne blockages can be due to many things such as "Acne Aestivalis" and "Cosmetica Acne", and in the absence of these things it is then immune system skin regenerative problems and skin damage that still underlies the whole process.

Infants barely have immune systems I think, that is probably why 20% of them get something called "infantile acne". Baby Acne after infantile sebum production has ceased disproves that sebum causes Acne.

[Choof_Chomper]

seriously dude. are you blazed right now?