What causes Acne?
Acne can be caused by a multitude of factors from hormonal to environmental. Acne usually occurs when the pores in your skin get blocked with dead skin, oil and or bacteria. Your pores are the opening of the follicle; the follicle is made of hair and sebaceous gland (oil).
The gland lubricates the skin and hair to stop it from drying out, this is done by the gland producing a substance called sebum. With acne the gland will begin producing too much sebum, and this then mixes with the dead skin cells and they combine to create a plug in the follicle.
This blockage of the pore, if it is closer to the surface, will show up as acne but depending up on the blockage and if bacteria is able to contaminate the plug, it will affect the type of acne that you suffer with.
Types of Acne
White heads
This type of acne forms through a combination of dead skin cells, bacteria and oil that’s trapped inside your pores. They appear yellow or white looking and are filled with a liquid consistency.
Blackheads
Blackheads appear on your skin like small bumps because of hair follicles being clogged inside your pores. These bumps are called blackheads because the surface looks dark or black.
Papules
This type of acne appears as swollen red bumps that we are usually aware of when having a standard breakout. Papules can cluster into a rash and be either brown, purple, pink or red in colour.
Pustules
Similar to papules, pustules are small bumps on the skin that contain fluid or pus; they appear as white bumps surrounded by red skin.
Nodules
Nodules are raised soft tissue bumps filled with fluid developed just below the skin. It can also turn red as the area gets more inflamed.
Cysts
This type of acne appears as large, red, painful breakouts deep in your skin and as bacteria is trapped underneath your skin, this causes the area to become swollen and painful to touch.
Types of Acne Scarring
Ice Pick Scars
Ice pick acne scars are often narrow, but ‘dig’ deep – usually reaching past the top levels of the skin’s surface. This type of scarring is one of the most common types, along with Boxed scarring.
Rolling Scars
Rolling scarring causes the skin to have an undulating appearance. This is due to damage beneath the skin’s surface. Rolling scars are usually shallow but wide.
Boxed Scars
Similar to ice pick scarring in the fact that they are also common, these scars are wider and feature well-defined edges. They appear more oval in shape.
PIH Acne Scars
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) refers to the dark spots that remain on the skin after an acne has healed. Unlike other forms of scarring, PIH does not typically change skin texture but rather pigmentation.
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