Acne - Know The Basics Of Whiteheads And Blackheads

Acne is a disease of sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands produce sebum and are located all over the skin except few places such as palms, soles and lips. Sebum is the natural oil that protects the skin. The skin has very small pores, which give passage to the hair to grow. Sebaceous glands also open in these pores and the sebum reaches the top of the skin through these pores.

Sometimes, the pore opening gets blocked by dead skin cells. This prevents the sebum going out and it collects inside the gland. This leads to formation of blackheads and whiteheads. Blackheads and whiteheads are also called as comedones. A comedone is defined as- a sebaceous follicle that is plugged and filled with sebum, dead cells, etc.

Blackhead-
A blackhead forms if air oxidizes the sebum. Oxidized sebum looks black, that is why the name- blackhead. As the pore is open at the top in blackheads, the blackheads are also known as open comedones.

Whitehead-
When the skin covers the sebum inside, a whitehead forms. Whiteheads are also known as closed comedones.

Whiteheads & Blackheads- Treatment
To remove whiteheads and blackheads medication is used that unplugs the pore and prevents future blockage of the pore. Most of the OTC topical acne medications can be used to treat comedones. You can also get the comedones extracted. If you extract them yourself you may cause a bigger pore.

If you have comedones, wash your face gently with lukewarm water and mild soap to remove excess sebum and dead skin twice a day. Excessive washing is not good. You should also avoid touching the affected skin to prevent infection.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

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The author CD Mohatta writes on skin care, diseases, treatments & STDs for doctorgoodskin. He also writes for myspace graphics and myspace comments.