Lorde Reveals Acne To Prove ‘Flaws Are Ok’

The 17-year-old “Royals” singer Lorde took to Twitter and revealed her acne. Lorde declared “flaws are ok” in her tweet.

The singer-songwriter uploaded two photos of herself to Twitter Sunday, one featuring her acne-prone face in profile.

i find this curious – two photos from today, one edited so my skin is perfect and one real. remember flaws are ok :-) http://ift.tt/1pw2pOF

— Lorde (@lordemusic) March 31, 2014

Acne affects 90 percent of people — celebrities too — at some point in their lives, and is most common among teenagers. Regardless of what some people say about “growing out of it,” the frustrating affliction can continue well into adulthood.

Acne vulgaris (acne) is a common condition of the skin, particularly affecting the areas with the densest population of sebaceous (oil) follicles. This includes the face, upper chest, and back. Sebaceous secretions are intended to condition and maintain a hydration balance.

The bane of most adolescents, acne is characterized by areas of skin with seborrhea (scaly red skin), comedones (blackheads/whiteheads), pustules (pimples), and nodules (large inflamed papules).

Any combination of the aforementioned types of acne can result in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (slow healing discoloration), giving the illusion of acne long since gone. Scarring (dimpling/pocking/permanent discoloration), can also form due to acne.

In adolescence, acne is caused by an increase in testosterone (androgens), which accrues during puberty, regardless of sex. Yes, women have testosterone too.

In fact, higher levels of testosterone promotes the worst, most difficult type of acne to treat, cystic acne. These appear as massive, inflamed red nodules along the chin line.

And ok, yes, for most people, once their hormones have balanced out, the acne does diminish or lessen over time. But there are people who suffer with it well into their 40′s and beyond.

Some people are just predisposed to have acne over others. Along with hormones skin-surface bacteria does play a role, and acne develops as a result of blockages in the follicles.

Dead cells are meant to desquamate (slough off). When they don’t properly shed they can accumulate within the pores and around hair follicles (hyperkeratinization), forming a commingled plug of keratin (natural protein), sebum (natural oil), and the dead cells. The cohesion of the protein, oil, and cells can block or cap the follicle or clog up the sebaceous duct.

In these conditions, the naturally occurring bacterium Propionibacterium acnes that thrives in the depths of our pores become inflamed. This leads to a variety of infected, inflammatory lesions in the dermis. When the bacteria provokes the immune system it results in swollen, red bumps.

Lorde, an apparent sufferer of acne, joins the leagues of other celebrities who’ve revealed their would-be flaws. Along with Lorde, other celebrities who have battled with acne, as reported by the Huffington Post, include Britney Spears, Rihanna, Cameron Diaz, Katy Perry, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

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