Acne originates from the Greek work “akme” which means a point or a spot. Acne is a very common skin condition affecting a mix of population including teens and adults. Though it is not lethal, having acne can lower one’s self esteem. It is generated when the sebaceous glands (oil producing glands) situated at the very end of the hair follicles are seen to be overactive. In very simple words, skin cells along with oil and hair clump up together. This clump gets infected with bacteria resulting in a swelling.
There are two categories of acne:
1.) Non-Inflammatory Acne
Non-Inflammatory acne generally does not cause any swelling. This category includes comedones. A comedo is a hair follicle (skin pore) which is clogged. Sebum combined with skin debris leads to blockage of these hair follicles. A comedo could be:
- Blackhead
Blackheads are comedones in which the pores remain open and stretched hence they are also called open comedone. These open pores that have been clogged with excess oil and melanin build-up gets exposed to air and results in discoloration, hence the name “blackhead”. It could also be generated due to the presence of dead skin cells which gets accumulated along with the oil – based cosmetic products used on the surface of the skin.
- Whitehead
Whiteheads are small lumps that appear on the surface of the skin. The pores in this case, are still clogged by debris and oil, but the surface of the pores remain closed and hence the name -closed comedone. They are similar to blackhead, the only difference is that in this case the clogged pores remain closed and is not exposed to air.
2.)Inflammatory Acne
Inflammatory acne, as the name suggests, are inflamed, painful and swollen. Sebaceous gland secretion along with dead skin cells are also the reasons for inflammatory acne as well, but what makes it inflamed is the presence of bacteria that leads to an infection deep within the skin layers.
- Papules and Pustules
In some cases, the pores get so badly clogged and infected by bacteria that they lead to the formation of papules or pustules. Papules are pink in color and are harder as compared to pustules. They do not contain any pus in them. Pustules are similar to papules except that they are yellowish in color due to the presence of pus.
- Cysts
These are blocked pores that continue to clog up such that they form hard and painful bumps that develop deep within the layers of the skin. These could linger for weeks, sometimes months and must be treated by a doctor.
So what type of acne do you have? Now that you have a fair idea of the most common types of acne, have a closer look when you get one next time and try to figure out its category. Wash your face twice a day and exfoliate your face with a mild scrub at least twice a week and do not overdo it. If you see that your condition is not improving, make sure you get some medical advice. Do not try to extract or pop your pimple!
The Health Look 
Informative, Homeopathy has some good solutions for Acne which can affect about 80% of teenagers and up to 40% of adults. For example ASTERIAS RUB is indicated for RED pimples (the ones between puberty and maturity), LEDUM PAL for red pimples on forehead & cheeks. We have also listed some good acne homeopathic creams here – http://homeomart.net/homeopathy-skin-creams-list-fairness-acne-anti-wrinkle-antiseptic
LikeLike
Good post. Sometimes I get ingrown painful pimples usually on nose. Can you post what causes it and home remedy if possible. Much Thanks in advance.
LikeLike
Usually, pimples occurs because the body is using the skin to evacuate debris from inside the body, if other organs are not working as efficiently as the body would like to – like the kidneys, the colon or lungs, but also not sweating enough from a lack of exercise, etc.
As the article explains, if the skin is inflamed, acne will appear but if not, the waste products will be washed away from the surface of the skin during a shower for example, without causing any pimples/acne.
There a few very useful things you can do to help reducing acne.
– The first one (and probably the best) is to dry-brush your skin where acne is popping out – it will increase the circulation of the lymph under your skin and help killing and removing those bacteria causing inflammation, so acne. Use a soft brush made if natural fibers, longer lasting and better not rub this delicate skin with plastic !
– Another tip is to try avoiding hard skin products, especially antibacterial ones, as they will also kill friendly bacteria on the skin as well as damaging it more. Those friendly bacteria are naturally there to care bout the skin !
– You can also add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, as much raw as possible to keep all nutrients available, to help your organs to get rid of that waste from other organs.
In term of food, you can put on your face, after a gentle cleaning, organic coconut oil (organic as the aim is to protect & feed your skin feed and the friendly bacteria who will kill the ones causing inflammation so no need to add harmful chemicals found in pesticides !). If you rub long enough (a few minutes are enough, not like 20 !), oil will penetrate and you won’t have a greasy face but only a soft, nice and lightly fragrant skin 🙂
– A good thing also is to try reducing junk and processed food, usually containing a lot of additives the body does not need, so it will work on getting rid of it and the cycle starts again !
I personally applied those advice and I have no acne anymore, in as short as a few weeks time. I hope it will help 🙂
LikeLike
Cysts and blackheads! Huhu. Is there any way to prevent it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whiteheads, blackheads, papules, pustules…you name it, I’ve had them. The only regimen I’ve found that has worked for me is the regimen proposed by acne.org (no affiliation). I use their 2.5 % benzoyl peroxide treatment along with Spectrogel (for mild cleansing), and Neutrogena AHA as the moisturizer. I tried the natural route, but the face was NOT having it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello
I have acne problem and I have been trying several methods to get rid of them. Coming across a detailed post on acne, was helpful. Now I know what type of acne I have. Thanks for sharing it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have acne problems ever since I hit puberty. I have tried every single thing that works (at least that’s what they told me) but still hasn’t really seen any difference or even a small improvement. Thanks for this blog, it really enlightened me while reading this! I will surely apply everything I’ve learned from this!
LikeLike