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Boba's Choice

Boba's Choice

About Acne, Whiteheads and Blackheads 

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Your medical advisors will be able to help you with a therapy for getting rid of acne and your skin conditions. Read the information below to get a simplest explanation about acne, whiteheads and blackheads. 

Acne as well as whiteheads, blackheads or pimples appears when sebum — an oily substance that lubricates your hair and skin — and dead skin cells plug hair follicles. Bacteria can trigger inflammation and infection resulting in more severe acne. Many factors contribute to the development of acne, including genetics, diet, stress, hormone changes and infections.

Females with excessive hair growth on their faces (and the "central line area" of their bodies) tend to have high levels of male hormones (called androgens). Women's bodies also produce androgen, only less than men do. Low levels of androgens don't cause excess hair growth in females. But when these amounts are too high, they can cause hirsutism (excess hair growth) and other conditions like acne, a deep voice etc.

Mayo clinic's website  contains some detailed info about acne symptoms and causes.

Most skin conditions that I observed in my decades long electrolysis practice, on my clients skin are:
Acne. Size of acne that vary in the severity. 
Whiteheads (closed plugged pores)
Blackheads (open plugged pores)
Small red, tender bumps (papules)
Pimples (pustules), which are papules with pus at their tips
Large, solid, painful lumps under the skin (nodules)
Painful, pus-filled lumps under the skin (cystic lesions)

Causes - How acne develops
Four main factors cause acne:
Excess oil (sebum) production
Hair follicles clogged by oil and dead skin cells
Bacteria
Inflammation
Acne typically appears on your face, forehead, chest, upper back and shoulders because these areas of skin have the most oil (sebaceous) glands. Human skin has pores that connect to oil glands under the skin. Follicles connect the glands to the pores. Follicles are small sacs that produce and secrete liquid.

The glands produce an oily liquid called sebum. Sebum carries dead skin cells through the follicles to the surface of the skin. A small hair grows through the follicle out of the skin.
Pimples grow when these follicles get blocked, and oil builds up under the skin.
Skin cells, sebum, and hair can clump together into a plug. This plug gets infected with bacteria, and swelling results. A pimple starts to develop when the plug begins to break down.

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is the name of the bacteria that live on the skin and contributes to the infection of pimples. Research suggests that the severity and frequency of acne depend on the strain of bacteria. Not all acne bacteria trigger pimples.

Contrary to acne, whiteheads and blackheads are less difficult to treat and, in my opinion are not as problematic as acute acne conditions. So how whiteheads and blackheads occur? 

Whiteheads are a type of comedo, a mild form of acne that appear as small, round, white bumps on the skin’s surface. This type of acne occurs when a pore becomes clogged with sebum, dead skin cells, and debris.If this clogged pore is covered with a thin layer of skin, it appears white on its surface. The follicle wall may bulge and produce a whitehead. 

Blackheads are also a type of comedo. Comedones occur when the pores in the skin become plugged with dead skin cells and an oily, protective substance known as sebum. The top of the blackhead, which is visible on the surface of the skin, has a dark color. Normally, hair grows from hair follicles in the pores, and the sebum-producing sebaceous glands lie underneath. When these pores are plugged, the dead skin cells in the open pore react with oxygen in the air and turn black, forming a blackhead.
This is often confused with trapped dirt, but the development of blackheads is not related to the cleanliness of the skin.
Other acne lesions are usually closed, but in blackheads, the skin around the clogged pore opens, air gets in causing the collected sebum oil or dead skin cells to oxidize and turn black or sometimes yellowish.

Pimples are raised red spots with a white center that develop when blocked hair follicles become inflamed or infected with bacteria. Blockages and inflammation deep inside hair follicles produce cystlike lumps beneath the surface of your skin. Other pores in your skin, which are the openings of the sweat glands, aren't usually involved in acne.

Certain things may trigger or worsen acne:

Hormonal changes. Androgens are hormones that increase in boys and girls during puberty and cause the sebaceous glands to enlarge and make more sebum. Hormone changes during midlife, particularly in women, can lead to breakouts too.
Certain medications. Examples include drugs containing corticosteroids, testosterone or lithium.
Diet. Studies indicate that consuming certain foods — including carbohydrate-rich foods, such as bread, bagels and chips — may worsen acne. Further study is needed to examine whether people with acne would benefit from following specific dietary restrictions.
Stress. Stress doesn't cause acne, but if you have acne already, stress may make it worse. 
Consult your medical doctor or dermatologist if you experience an acute acne outbreak. 

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