Acne – Do Genetics Play a Role in Acne?

For many years, it was thought that genetics played absolutely no role in acne. Recent research has found that the reverse is actually true for some acne patients. While acne is not a guaranteed fate from an ancestor to a descendant, there are instances where the genes do actually bring acne on.

The research was conducted by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), through the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. The research was to test new technology, known as Gene Array Expression Profiling. This technology essentially measures the cellular concentration of messenger ribonucleic acid in the genes of a cell. As you may or may not know, each cell carries two genes – one from your mother, and one from your father.

So, if your mother had acne, does this mean that you will as well? Not necessarily. You see the new technology actually doesn’t look at your parents genes. Instead, it looks for specific gene patterns or sequences. Certain sequences appear more frequently in people who have acne than in those who do not.

On the other side of that, however, is the fact that we usually have the same skin coloring and type that one of our parents have. For example, if you have a dark skinned parent, you will most likely have dark skin. If you have two pale skinned parents, you will most likely have pale skin. Therefore, it stands to reason that if one of your parents had oily skin and suffered from acne, your chances of suffering from oily skin and acne are increased.

The good news is that with new technology and new acne treatments, you are not doomed to acne. Remember that treatments are always evolving, and just knowing that you are at a genetic risk for acne will help you to better avoid it, by taking better care of your skin, from a very early age.