Whether it’s the first day of school, a big interview or your wedding day, pimples find a way of cropping up at the most inconvenient times.

不論是第一天上學、重要的面試或是你結婚那天，痘痘總是在最不應該冒出的時候竄出。

But why do they occur and how do we get rid of them?

但到底為什麼會長痘痘，我們又如何才能擺脫痘痘呢？

The term “pore”, it is just another way of saying “hair follicle”, and your body is covered in them.

「毛孔」這個詞是「毛囊」的另一種說法，你的身體遍佈著毛囊。

Within the follicle is a gland that produces an oily substance called sebum,

在毛囊裡面有一種腺體會產生叫做「脂肪」的油性物質，

which empties onto the skin to keep your hair and body moisturized.

會分佈到你的皮膚上讓你的毛髮以及身體保持濕潤。

But if the hair follicle becomes clogged with dead skin cells and oils, a blockage is created.

但如果毛囊被死皮以及油脂塞滿，就會造成阻塞。

Sebum continues to be produced but it is trapped within the follicle making it become enlarged.

脂肪會持續被分泌，不過會困在毛囊裡使得毛囊越來越大。

And this is where bacteria come into play, feeding on the dead skin and sebum which can unfortunately lead to infection.

而這時後細菌就來參一腳啦，藉由死皮以及脂肪維生帶來感染。

Your immune system responds by sending blood to the area, giving the appearance of redness and inflammation,

免疫系統的反應為把血液送到這個區域，帶來紅腫以及發炎，

and white blood cells come to the site too, to clear up the infection.

接著白血球也會來到這個地方來清除感染。

When the white blood cells die, they, combined with the dead skin and sebum, create the pus filled pimple.

當白血球死掉後，他們會跟死皮以及脂肪結合，組成痘痘的基本元素。

If the blockage occurs under the skin it creates a white bump known as a “whitehead”

如果這樣的阻塞發生在皮膚下方，就會產生一個白色突起物，也就是我們說的「粉刺」。

and if the blockage is above the skin and black discolouration occurs it’s known as a “blackhead”.

如果這樣的阻塞發生在皮膚上方，就會產生一個黑色點點，也就是我們說的「黑頭」。

This is a result of melanin in the dead skin cells reacting with oxygen creating a black colour - it’s not dirt.

這歸因於死皮細胞中的黑色素以及氧氣反應產生的黑色：這並不是灰塵。

We get the most pimples when we are teens due to the increased amount of androgen hormones like testosterone in our bodies at the onset of puberty.

我們通常會在青春期的時候長最多痘痘，原因就是如睪丸激素的男性賀爾蒙會在我們的青春期開始激增。

Testosterone sends the production of sebum into overdrive, increasing the incidence of blockages.

睪丸激素使得脂肪分泌旺盛，增加阻塞的可能。

But zits can occur at any time - often brought on by stressful events.

但青春痘不管什麼時候都可能會長出來：特別在我們壓力大的時候。

Cortisol, the stress hormone, increases the amount of inflammation in your body, meaning more red bumps on your face and can also suppress your immune system,

皮質醇，一種壓力賀爾蒙，會增加你體內的火氣代表臉上會長更多的紅腫，並且可能會壓抑你的免疫系統，

meaning your body can’t fight the bacteria that is causing the acne.

代表你的身體沒有辦法抵抗帶來痘痘的細菌。

So how do we fight the war on pimples? For normal breakouts, cleaning your face to remove excess oil,

所以我們到底怎麼樣跟痘痘對抗？最基本的，清潔臉部以移除過剩的油脂，

which prevents pore blockage and occasionally exfoliating to remove dead skin will help, although acne often cannot be solved this way.

這能夠避免毛孔阻塞，並且偶爾去除死皮也會有幫助，雖然通常來說痘痘並沒有辦法這樣被解決。

And it’s important to remember that cleanliness and diet do not play a major role in acne, but rather your genetics and hormones.

並且要記住一件很重要的事：清潔以及飲食並不是造成痘痘的最大主因，你的基因以及賀爾蒙分泌才是重要的原因。

Many drugs exist like benzoyl peroxide which kills specific acne causing bacteria,

有很多藥品具有過氧化苯的成分，能夠有效殺死造成痘痘的細菌，

salicylic acid which helps to remove dead skin blockages, retinoids which reduce sebum production and a variety of others; though some drugs can have severe side effects.

水楊酸能夠幫助移除死皮阻塞，類視色素能夠減低脂肪生成，雖然有些藥品可能會有嚴重的副作用。

In women, some success has been seen with oral contraceptives, which decrease the ovaries production of androgen hormones, ultimately decreases sebum.

對女性而言，口服避孕藥有成功的成效會降低子宮分泌男性賀爾蒙，最終減少脂肪生成。

Of course, consulting with a doctor over which regimen is best suited to you is always best.

當然，最好要向醫生諮詢最適合自己的治療方式。

But new therapies and cures may be on the horizon with the help of science!

但隨著科學的進步，新的治療方法以及解藥可能相去不遠了！

By studying individuals who do not get acne, scientists noticed something:

藉由研究不會長痘痘的人，科學家發現一些事情：

the bacteria that typically causes acne still exists on their skin, but it’s a different strain.

那些會造成痘痘的細菌還是能夠在他們的皮膚上找到，但是基因不太一樣。

It turns out that this same bacteria with slightly different genes causes healthier skin.

結果發現，即使是一樣的細菌，若是有些許不同的基因，就可能帶來更健康的皮膚。

Knowing this, future therapies may include a deeper look at the bacterial level,

在發現這個是時候，未來的治療方式可能會更深入地從細菌上下手，

and whether or not altering your skin microbiota could cure pimples.

不論如何，改變你皮膚上的微生物是可以治療痘痘的！

We're really glad to be working in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates,

我們很榮幸能夠與 Bill 以及 Melinda Gates 共事！

in supporting their Annual Letter this year called “Two superpowers we wish we had”!

為了要支持他們的年度信件：「如果我有這兩項超能力就好了！」

Every year they release a letter looking at global issues, and this year the question is: What would your superpower for good be?

每一年他們都會釋出一封信件，探討國際議題，而今年的問題是：你的超能力會是什麼？

Would it be to have more clean energy like Bill or more time like Melinda, which means one thing in rich countries and something else to the world’s poorest families.

會是跟 Bill 一樣希望地球有更多的乾淨能源嗎？或是像 Melinda 一樣希望工資平權，這在富裕國家與貧窮家庭是完全不同的。

It’s a chance to enact positive change in the world.

這是一個為世界帶來更多正向改變的方式。

So find something you’re passionate about and learn more about it.

所以快找個你有熱情的事情，並且學習更多跟這件事情有關的知識。

You can check out the letter with the link in the description,

你可以在下面的描述點去看那封信，

and we'll be posting our superpower ideas on Instagram with #superpowerforgood.

我們也會把我們的超能力點子發表在 Instagram 上，並標籤 #讓世界更好的超能力！

【看影片學英語】數萬部 YouTube 影片，搭配英漢字典即點即查，輕鬆掌握單字發音與用法，長久累積看電影不必再看字幕。學這些英文用法：痘痘,死皮,毛囊,賀爾蒙,脂肪,細菌,超能力,分泌,皮膚,白血球,治療,基因,會長,帶來,睪丸,青春期,藥品,激素,信件,產生,移除,免疫,清潔,身體,黑色,平權,皮質醇,解藥,黑色素,代表,反應,辦法,壓力,發現,正向,死掉,重要,激增,毛髮,增加,色素,壓抑,子宮,面試,微生物,點子,灰塵,副作用,臉部,貧窮,去除,抵抗,發炎,富裕,年度,氧氣,清除,榮幸,困在,能源,改變,元素,標籤,原因,工資,細胞,成分,對抗,飲食,熱情,血液,乾淨,幫助,白色,物質,進步,發表,女性,結合,擺脫,降低,科學家,國際,世界,殺死,區域,說法,叫做,醫生,深入,科學,地球,知識,最好,減少,有效,避免,適合,嚴重,健康,家庭,來到,解決,支持,成功,研究,國家,學習,方法,特別,找到,生活,地方,問題,阻塞,紅腫,毛孔,油脂,上下手,水楊酸,火氣,突起物,油性,參一腳,粉刺,避孕藥,口服,青春痘,腺體...