All people experience acne in some point in their lives. To some, it has developed into a cystic type which come in violent outbreaks and thus, can be awfully disfiguring.
In order to effectively combat acne, we must first understand how it comes to be.
It all starts on your hair follicle, the part of your skin where your hair grows and where you find the pores, thus we have there a “break” in the skin surface. Attached in the hair follicles are sebaceous glands which produce an oil called sebum. Just like keeping a leather boot in good condition, the sebum acts to keeps the skin from drying up and keeps it healthy.
Acne is actually a result of a “disaster”. In the opening of the hair follicles, or we know as pores, there are times that it becomes clogged, and so the sebum builds up under the skin. Now this buildup of sebum attracts bacteria which feed on the oil. As bacteria start to multiply, our body reacts and tries to get rid of that foreign microbe – it tries to isolate it by creating a localized inflammation. And there you have it – an acne.
What we mentioned above is the erupted, red form that is popularly called a zit or pimple. But acne also includes some non-inflamed forms, known as comedones. Acne comedones come in two kinds: blackheads and whiteheads. A whitehead is formed when the mass of bacteria and sebum formed by a blocked follicle stay below the surface of the skin, and can be so small, sometimes we cannot even see it. A blackhead is formed when the erupted mass goes to the surface, allowing the melanin in the trapped sebum to oxidize and become black.
You may hear people say “Don’t try to prick those blackheads, or, pop those whiteheads.” Well, unless you want worse forms of bacteria to settle in, you really shouldn’t prick it especially when your hands are unsanitized. Aside from the fact that prickling can cause those bacteria to worsen that simple blackhead or whitehead into an inflamed acne, the pressure can rupture the interior wall of the follicle. Once this happens, white blood cells flood into the already engorged follicle to fight the escaped bacteria, and the acne becomes inflamed (papule).
Normally, whiteheads and blackheads forms of acne eventually drain the built up sebum and bacteria to the surface and the skin heals. But there are severe cases of acne which leads to extreme inflammation in the form of cysts or nodules.
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