Pimples, Blackheads and Whiteheads OH MY!

01/17/12 | by admin | Skin Care Info | No Comments »-->

To understand what a pimple is, you have to understand the difference between whiteheads and blackheads. If the pore is completely clogged and remains closed at the surface, it is called a whitehead. Whiteheads:

• Are clogged with sebum, an oily substance

 

• Have a white appearance

 

• Most commonly evolve into pimples

Differing from a whitehead, a blackhead is formed when a pore is only partially clogged, allowing some of the trapped sebum to slowly drain to the surface. The black color is caused by the oxygen in the air reacting to the exposed pore.

Usually, pimples are confused as another name for acne, but pimples are just another form of acne. When a pore becomes infected and is inflamed, it is considered a pimple. As part of your immune response, blood flow increases, which is the body’s natural defense against acne. Pimples usually develop after whiteheads or blackheads have become infected.

Pimples are often caused by blockage in the skin pore. There are sebaceous glands present inside every skin pore which produce sebum during skin shedding. Often during such a process bits and pieces of the shedding dead cells are held back by the gluey sebum causing blockage of the skin pores. This is a common symptom during the puberty stage when the skin starts to thicken. As the sebaceous glands keep on secreting sebum the blockage builds up harboring various bacteria including the most common Propionibacterium acnes.

Acne occurs when there is a blockage of the follicles. As sebum and keratin plugs start growing through a process of hyperkeratinization, the first signs of acne become visible. Thereon as enlarged sebaceous glands start secreting more and more sebum, there is also a boost in androgen production forming both black heads and whiteheads (open and closed comedones)

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