• Question: Why do we get spots?

    Asked by to Aimee, Chris, Dave, Greig, Laurence on 19 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Laurence Perreault Levasseur

      Laurence Perreault Levasseur answered on 19 Jun 2014:


      Hi 12willl,
      I got confused for a moment about your question, because in America, spots are called zits .. 😉
      Did you know that skin is the largest organ of the human body? As an organ, it is made of its own special tissues and ensures a very special function: to protect your whole body from damage, infections, and drying out.

      Your skin is made of 2 main layers, the epidermis at the top, and the dermis at the bottom. The epidermis role is to produce a hard shield to protect your body, that’s the layer that you can touch.

      The bottom layer, the dermis, is the layer that makes skin elastic, and its also where all the thermal (for hot and cold), pain, and pressure (for touch) sensors are. It’s also where the hairs grow from, and it is packed with oil glands, sweat glands, and blood vessels.

      Hair, sweat, and blood vessels help keep your body at constant temperature. The oil glands, on the other hand, the guilty ones when it comes to spots (or zits). Their role is to produce a lubricant that keeps your skin soft and prevents your hairs from becoming brittle. So they’re pretty important!

      But, sometimes, their oil blocks an hair follicle (that’s the hole through the hair goes from the bottom layer of the skin to the top layer and our of the body). When dead cells start mixing with the oil blockage, that makes it very attractive for bacterias to come and eat and multiply! It’s like if you leave a piece of delicious double cream out on the counter for few weeks, bacterias will start multiply pretty quickly!! This is what causes inflammation (it becomes red, painful and swelled up) under the blockages, and that’s how spots are formed!

      During the teen ages, the brain starts producing loads of hormones, and often some of them make the oil gland in your skin go a bit crazy!! So that’s why teens have a lot more spots than adults and kids. Girls can also get more during their periods (also hormones’ fault!!) and women tend to get more when they get pregnant (and once again… because of their hormones!!)

    • Photo: Greig Cowan

      Greig Cowan answered on 19 Jun 2014:


      Hi 12willl. Spots are caused by pores in our skin becoming blocked by a combination of the oil that they produce and dead skin cells that remain in/near the pore. When the pore is blocked, oil continues to be produced but can’t be washed away. Since the oil might contain some bacteria, this can lead to infection/swelling. Typically, teenagers get more spots than adults as they are going through some hormonal changes, leading to their skin getting thicker. This can lead to more blockages.

    • Photo: Aimee Hopper

      Aimee Hopper answered on 20 Jun 2014:


      spots are caused by the pockets of air underneath our hair (called pores) getting blocked up with dirty and grime and other horrid stuff.
      You can avoid them by washing frequently with hot water and soap 🙂

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