Within your follicles, there are plenty of C. acnes (Corynebacterium acnes) bacteria residing there. A common mistake many people make is to blame this bacteria for being the source of their acne. Maybe it’s because of the name? This bacteria was actually misnamed by the scientists who discovered it, thinking that the bacteria was what caused acne.
We now know that this bacteria exists in the pores of everyone and not just those that are acne prone. People with acne prone skin also do not have greater numbers of this bacteria.
The bacteria, however, can aggravate an existing acne condition. How so? The bacteria feeds off the oil produced by the sebaceous glands. The bacteria creates an enzyme to split the oil into glycerol and fatty acids. The bacteria consumes the glycerol and discards the fatty acids. It is the fatty acids that end up irritating the pores and aggravates the acne. Keep in mind though that this isn’t the whole source of the acne problem. There are other factors that play a part, such as genetics.
