Common Types of Acne Lesions

All acne starts out the same way, but the lesions it leaves behind on your skin in the end are different. Acne can turn out to be either noninflammatory or inflammatory. Noninflammatory acne normally results in the lesions termed blackhead and whitehead. When your body's immune system responds to the bacteria and plug, inflammatory acne occurs. Papule, pustule, nodule and cyst are pimples formed due to different levels of inflammation. The inflammational levels also determines the severity of acne and the potential to scar. Here are more details on the few common types of acne lesions you may encounter.

Whitehead

When skin oil and debris are trapped in the skin pores, they can form into white, raised bump known as whitehead. Whitehead is also called a closed comedo because the plug stays beneath the skin surface.

Blackhead

Blackhead is a pinhead-sized dark spot on the skin caused by small plug in skin pore. In contrast to whitehead, the plug of a blackhead enlarges and opens up the pore, reaching the surface of the skin. Blackhead is also known as open comedo. You can't wash blackhead away because the black spot isn't trapped dirt. It is actually the dark pigment of your skin, couple with the oxidized skin oil after exposing to the air.

Papule

When a pimple bursts under the skin, it turns into a papule infecting the surrounding tissue. A papule looks like a small pink dome and is tender to the touch.

Pustule

A pustule is a papule deeper under the skin, swollen and filled with pus. It appears small on the skin surface with a whitish or yellowish cap in its center and may be red at the base. Pustule may occur anywhere on the body, but is usually seen on the face, shoulders, back, and over the breastbone.

Nodule

Nodule is huge, painful and solid. It starts out as a bump filled with blood that is later filled with pus. Nodule can be so sore to your touch you don't want to squeeze it at all. It can stay deep within the skin for months and eventually leave you with a deep scar.

Cyst

A cyst is a closed pocket or pouch of tissue. Cyst is common on the skin and may develop as a result of harden nodule. It is a firm swellings beneath the skin surface that become inflamed from a severe case of acne. Cyst is deep, painful, and pus-filled and can cause scarring.

People with acne typically develop a assortment of lesions. Whitehead and blackhead are two common forms of acne lesions of the type called comedones. Though they aren't sore, they may stay in the skin for a long time. Other troublesome acne lesions include papule, pustule, nodule and cyst. They are painful to the touch and usually pus-filled because of bacteria infection. Knowing the different types of acne lesions will help in your search of appropriate treatment.

Why You Need To Understand The Cause Of Acne To Skin

Acne is a skin condition characterized by whiteheads, blackheads, and inflamed red pimples or zits. By understanding the cause of acne to skin, you will have a clearer picture over the various methods of acne control for skin. It helps you to understand how different acne treatments work.

The cause of acne is complicated with many factors contributing to its creation. Genetics and hormones have been identified to have the most influence. Essentially, the cause of acne to skin can be broken down into a four-step process. Each step interacts with one another to cause blackheads, whiteheads and pimples, all associated with acne.

1. Overactive Oil Glands
   Sebaceous glands are oil glands located in your skin. They produce sebum, an oily substance, consisting chiefly of fat and cell debris. Hormones, particularly the male hormone called androgen, regulate the oil production in the sebaceous glands. Women have these hormones too but much less.
   
   Normally, the sebum or oil flows freely through skin pore to the surface and keep your skin moist. However, the hormonal changes during puberty usually cause the sebaceous glands to become overactive. Stress is also known to lead to the increase of hormones that stimulate the sebaceous glands. Whatever the reason, the result is more sebum than usual.
2. Blockage Of The Skin Pores
   The overflow of oil from the overactive oil glands alone is not the cause of acne to skin. If the oil flows normally to the skin surface, oily skin occurs. But the oil can just as easily be trapped within the skin pores if the pores become blocked. This is exactly what comedo--a plug forms by shed dead skin cells that have bunched together--does. It works like the cork of a bottle to clog the outflow of the oil. This is when acne starts to develop.
3. Overgrowth Of Normal Skin Bacteria
   The trapped oil will result in the proliferation of the Propionibacterium acnes or p. acnes, for short. P. acnes is normally a harmless bacterium residing in your skin. It feeds on the fatty acids in the sebum secreted by sebaceous glands. When a skin pore is clogged, p. acnes overgrows and secretes chemicals that break down the wall of the pore. It becomes easy for other harmful bacteria to attack the skin, forming acne lesion or inflammation.
4. Inflammation
   The bacteria infection will trigger the immune system of your body to go into defense. Your body will try to contain the harmful bacteria or the irritating by-products they have produced. The end result is the swelling and inflammation experienced as pimples and zits.

The androgens hormone is the main cause of acne to skin. Acne starts to develop when changes in androgens result in overproduction of skin oil. Couple with the clogging of skin pores and the overgrowth of skin bacteria, it results in the inflamed skin of pimples. By understanding the process and cause of acne, you're now better able to control acne.