Everyone has oil on their skin; without it, the skin would have the texture of dry leather and would be more prone to cracks, bleeding, and irritation.

But while everyone has oil, not everyone has acne.

It is true that the amount of oil that one has on the face is going to be different person to person; this is caused partly by genetics. Just like someone who is the child of dark haired parents is probably going to have dark hair and someone that has parents with fair skin is going to probably have fair skin, the amount of oil on your skin, or a tendency to dry skin, or combination skin, or anything else is going to be influenced at least in part by genetics.

The amount of oil on one’s skin is also influenced by diet. Everything that we eat or drink affects our body’s system in one way or another; when you don’t have enough hydration in your system your body is going to be very dry and this includes your skin. People that are severely dehydrated and malnourished have skin that is waxy and very dry; their internal organs and muscles can also be affected as well. Dehydration can cause the blood to be thicker than it should, which affects one’s circulation. Muscles can be starved and therefore weak.

And having too much of anything in the body also affects the system. If you eat too much sugar of course you’ll get sick as the body cannot digest it at one time, and the blood sugar level spikes as well. When it comes to oil and fat in the diet, having too much will result in it not being digested the way it should and it then is excreted through the pores, resting on the skin.

But no matter what is causing any amount of excessive oil on the face, there is something very important to understand about the connection between oil and acne:

Oily skin doesn’t cause acne.

For most people, no matter how much oil they have on the face, it is usually washed, rinsed, or just wears away through normal everyday activities. A person can have skin almost literally dripping with oil and still not have acne.

So what’s the problem? If it’s not oil, then what?

The problem with acne and the only connection between it and oily skin is that when this oil gets trapped in a hair follicle or skin pore and then allows for the collection of dirt and bacteria. This too is very normal for most people, and a simply washing of the face rinses away this problem.

But for someone with acne, something else happens. That collection of dirt, oil, and bacteria not only gets trapped in that follicle or pore, the skin forms a covering over it that doesn’t allow it to escape so that it forms a sac or bubble, which we call a pimple. Most people don’t have this problem with their skin; their pores stay open or the hair follicles may get filled with dirt and oil but it doesn’t typically get trapped in there.

This is very important for people with acne to remember. The collection of dirt and oil isn’t the only problem, but rather it’s that this dirt and oil is trapped under that small layer of skin so that it can’t be washed away. It’s that skin’s unnatural covering that forms over that collection of dirt and oil that causes a pimple; it is not the dirt and oil itself.

This means that many people have the same exact problems with their skin by way of dirt and oil that someone with acne does; the person with acne just has this defect or problem wherein the skin doesn’t break or stay open the way it should in order for that dirt and bacteria to escape.

Some people are very surprised to hear this, thinking that the oil or dirt alone is what’s causing the problem. This thinking can lead to all sorts of problems with the skin and how one treats the acne, leading us to the next myth about the condition.