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What happens under the skin?

    Acne causes and solutions

    These pages will show you how acne forms, and then dispel acne myths, and finally provide advice on how to get rid of any type or severity of acne you may be experiencing.

    By the time you're done with this information you should have a good idea of the science behind acne and feel confident in how you would like to proceed.

    Acne is an inflammatory skin condition characterized by superficial skin eruptions that are caused by sudden and strong outflow of sebum which injures the cells lining the sebum canals within the skin follicles, or by plugging of the skin pores.

    When the sebum glands are overactive or when they first become active during puberty and produce large quantities of oil (sebum) the sudden outflow of large quantities of such sebum either ends up injuring the cells that line the sebum canal or the sebum blocks the opening of the follicles (often called pores).



    If the cells lining the sebum canals get injured the body triggers an inflammatory reaction to get rid of the problem and if the inflammatory reaction is immoderate as it usually is you get pus, redness , pain and destruction by your own system not only of the sebum but also some of the surrounding cells. If sebum (oil) which normally drains to the surface gets blocked it becomes a rich feeding environment for the growth of bacteria.

    Both whiteheads and blackheads start out as a microcomedone. The picture below is a microcomedone:

    microcomedo

    There are two types of acne:

    Acne Characterized by Blocked pores

    Microcomedones become non-inflamed skin blemishes called comedones - either a whitehead or a blackhead:

    WhiteHead
    whiteheadWhen the trapped sebum and bacteria stay below the skin surface, a whitehead is formed. Whiteheads may show up as tiny white spots, or they may be so small that they are invisible to the naked eye.
    WhiteHead
    BlackHead
    blackheadA blackhead occurs when the trappedsebum and bacteria partially open to the surface and turn black due to melanin, the skin's pigment.
    It is not dirt and can not be washed away. Blackheads can last for a long time because the contents very slowly drain to the surface.
    BlackHead
    A blackhead or whitehead can release its contents to the surface and heal. Or, the cells lining the follicle wall can become damaged and inflammatory acne can ensue (see below). This lesions can be caused by random occurence or by picking or touching the skin. This is why it is important to leave acne prone skin relatively untouched.

    Papules
    whiteheadA papule occurs when there is a lesion in the follicular wall. White blood cells rush in and the pore becomes inflamed.whitehead
    BlackHead
    blackheadA pustule forms several days later when white blood cells make their way to the surface of the skin. This is what people usually refer to as a "zit" or a "pimple".blackhead

    An inflamed lesion can sometimes completely collapse or explode, severely inflaming the surrounding skin, and sometimes destroying neighboring follicles. These lesions are called nodules or cysts:

    Nodules
    whiteheadWhen a follicle breaks along the bottom, total collapse can occur, causing a large, inflamed bump that can be sore to the touch.
    Cyst
    blackheadSometimes a severe inflammatory reaction can result in very large pus filled lesions or cyst. This type of acne should be treated by a dermatologyst.

    Diagrams courtesy of: National Institute of Health


    BIOSKINCLEAR is a biological skin care product for acne that has no side effects. It works because it not only controls bacteria by boosting the production of the skin's own antimicrobials, it also unclogs pores through the action of enzymes that digest the keratin and sebum that plugs hair follicles. In fact it releases the amino-acid components of damaged skin proteins for their use in regenerating healthy cells which prevents and heals acne scarring.

    It also moisturizes the skin and eliminates redness quickly. It can be used in conjunction with medicines like isotretinoin (Accutanee & other brands prescribed for very severe acne) to avoid their dreaded side effects on the skin and to start healing scarring and stregthenning the skin while taking the medicines, for it does not interact with them.




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