MMMiii!

Acne is nasty and could become a serious issue if not taken care of. Acne isn’t really caused by dirt, that’s what I just found out today.

There are two types of acne, according to Acne.com.

These are the non-inflammatory acne and the inflammatory acne.

Under the non-inflammatory type is the whitehead and the blackhead.

Whiteheads, or the closed comedo, is when the follicle stays below the surface of the skin and they just appear as small, whitish bumps.

Blackheads, or the open comedo, is when the hole enlarged and tie plug pushes through the surface of the skin. It is black, but this is not due to dirt, as what you might think. Rather, it is due to the buildup of melanin, which is the skin’s dark pigment.

There are different kinds of inflammatory acne: the Papule, the Pustule, and the Nodule which could turn into a Cyst, and the Acne conglobata.

The Papule is like the early beginnings of an inflammatory acne. These can be a little painful. They look like small, firm pink bumps, but not really poppable.
The Pustule is the more inflamed version of the papule. These are generally caused by chemical irritation. We probably know this more as the pimple, or taghiyawat/tagyawat in Filipino.
The Nodule is large and inflamed and painful and filled with pus, and it is lodged deep within the skin. These nasty ones develop when the contents of a comedo spills into the surrounding areas of the skin and our immune system responds to it by pus buildup. This is our very painful pigsa and the “eye” would be the root of all evil. Severe cases of these nodules may persist for weeks or months and if it hardens, it becomes a cyst.

The last one is the Acne conglobata, which is rare but serious, and develops usually on the back, buttocks and chest. It is made up of pustules and nodules with severe bacterial infection.
How to prevent these? I got these from Acne.com as well, with a little of my opinions.

1. Don’t over-wash. And with over-washing, i mean washing with facial soaps and scrubs. Dirt isn’t the cause of these pimples. Limit it to two washings per day so that your skin won’t get dry or wash out the natural oils. I wash my face with water all the time and hardly with facial soap.
2. Skip the harsh scrubs. These can aggravate your acne. Exfoliate only with gentle scrubs.
3. Avoid alcohol-based toners. These can dry your skin.
4. Don’t squeeze or pick. These can either force the bacteria deeper, or increase the damage to the surrounding skin. You don’t want to have blemishes on your pretty face.
5. Don’t touch your face too much. The hands are one of the dirtiest parts of the body, therefore it has a lot of bacteria, which starts the nasty acne.
6. Shower off after exercising. So the bacteria will not have time to start breeding in your skin.

I don’t get a lot of pimples on my face, I’m thankful for that, but like some illnesses, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment.

* Images are from the Acne.com

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