WHAT IS ACNE

Acne is definitely a four-letter word for people who suffer with it.   It is an inherited disorder of the pores – pores that want to sludge up with dead skin cells much like a clogged drain in your sink. Normal pores shed about one layer of dead skin cells per day inside the pore. The acne-prone pore sheds up to five layers of dead skin cells per day and the body just can’t keep up. This forms congestion under the skin which are noninflamed acne lesions (blackheads and/or whiteheads; and if bacteria are present (which just loves to feed on the dead skin cells and oil), you will get inflamed pimples, pustules and/or cysts.

There are two main types of acne as we see it – non-inflamed acne and inflamed acne. Most people have a combination of the two.

What is Non-inflamed Acne?

Dead skin cells and oil (plus other debris) form a plug inside the pore. If this plug does not become inflamed, it can become a whitehead — a non-inflamed lesion under the skin.

Another non-inflamed acne lesion called a blackhead, where the pore remains open. In the case of a blackhead, the tip of the plug darkens as it is exposed to oxygen in the environment.

What is Inflamed Acne?

As the oil and the dead skin cells build up, they put pressure on the cells surrounding the pore. With enough pressure, the sides of the pore rupture and the contents of the pore leak into the surrounding skin.  Because this material contains a lot of P. acnes bacteria, the surrounding skin now becomes infected, creating a red bump that we know as a pimple.