Acne basics

How is acne produced?

Acne starts with the basic injury: Pimple or zit, due to the broadening of a capillary follicle covered by grease, dead skin cells and bacteria. Invisible to the naked eye, the pimple lies underneath the skin’s surface waiting for the right conditions to grow as an inflamed injury.

While skin continues producing more grease, bacteria harbor inside the inflamed follicle, the skin around starts increasing the inflammation until the white cells of its blood begin fighting with the intruders.

Thought all pimples are produced in the same way, they can take different types and react differently in each person.

Types of acne

With no inflammation

a. Closed with white tip: if the covered follicle stays underneath the skin’s surface. They usually appear as little white swellings.

b. Open with black tip: when the covered pimple gets broad and pushes up to the skin surface. The appearance of a black point is not dirt, it is rather a melanin excess, the dark skin pigment.

With inflammation

a. Furunculous: The most common type of acne, which appears in the skin as little pink inflammation. They may be sensitive to touch, and they are considered the step between injuries with no inflammation and the clearly inflamed.

b. With pus: As the furunculous, these types of injuries are small, but unlike them they are clearly inflamed and have pus. They may appear with a pinkish base with a yellowish or whitish core. Pus zits commonly have a great amount of bacteria. Inflammation is caused in most cases by a chemical irritation of sebaceous components, as fat-free acids.

c. Cysts: these are big and very painful. Cysts are deep injuries that appear inflamed and filled with pus. It is the most severe acne injury since cysts can persist for weeks and months, and their contents may derive into a deeper cyst. They can leave deep scars.