Acne breakouts, although very common during puberty and adulthood, are a matter of serious concern because it can mar the appearance of a person, especially when the acne leaves behind ugly scars on the skin.
Acne normally appears on the cheeks, around the tip of the nose, over the upper part of the chest of a person as well as on the skin of the upper back.
It is essential that we learn about what causes breakouts because unless we do not familiarize ourselves with the various risk factors responsible for causing acne, the correct management and control of this problem will become almost impossible for us.
It is also important that we learn how to prevent pimples and it is definitely a good idea to keep handy certain tips to prevent pimples formation on your skin.
What Causes Breakouts: Here is a comprehensive list of all the various risk factors responsible for causing acne -

• Lack of adequate sleep,
• Constipation, indigestion or stomach disorders
• Stress due to mental tension or mental exhaustion,
• Eating a lot of chocolates, sweets and candies,
• Consuming greasy, spicy and deep fried items in diet,
• Exposing your skin to environmental pollutants, dust, dirt and smoke,
• Heavy and rough scrubbing while cleaning your face,
• Excessive dryness caused due to the use of alcohol based astringents,
• Hormonal changes in the body during puberty, pregnancy, menopause, use of contraceptive pills, menstruation, etc.
  
• Allergy to certain cosmetics and beauty products,
• Dandruff in the hair, etc.
  

But before you try to get rid of a zit quickly, and use any particular treatment or remedy for curing the zit, you need to ascertain which kind of zit you are suffering from exactly - a non-inflammatory acne or an inflammatory one.
A non-inflammatory acne such as a black head or a white head develops whenever the oil produced by the sebaceous glands present on the skin traps the dead cells that are shed (as a part of the natural process of skin cell renewal) from the skin and clog the pores.
On the other hand, inflammatory acne such as pimples, cysts and nodules develop whenever the excess oil that is produced by the sebaceous glands combines with the dead skin cells and clump together near the pores, thereby encouraging the growth of pore-irritating bacteria, which results in inflammation, redness and pus formation in the pore wall.
Although not painful like the pimples or whiteheads, blackheads (irrespective of whether they are the nose blackheads or the ones that appear on the cheeks), they impart a very dirty and unclean look to our skin.
Hence, blackhead treatment is necessary in order to give our skin a healthy, blemish free and clean look.
Once we have learnt about learn about what causes breakouts, we must also learn about how to manage these risk factors so that we can prevent the formation of pimples.
Here are some useful tips to prevent pimples - reduce your stress levels, take a low fat, less oily and less spicy diet, regularly clean and exfoliate your facial skin to keep it clean from excessive oil, dirt and dead cells.
In spite of all these measures, if you continue to suffer from zits, then it is better to consult your doctor.