Different types of acne and its Causes
What is Acne?
Acne is essentially a chronic inflammation of the hair follicles in our skin. There are many different forms of acne, the ones we are most familiar with are, inflammatory acne and non-inflammatory acne. There are other types of acne but they are very rare, such as:
Gram-Negative Folliculitis
Acne Fulminans
Acne Rosacea
Acne primarily happens on the face but can occur on other oilier parts of the body such as your chest, back and even your scalp.
Where does acne start?
Acne starts in the pores of the skin. The pores of the skin consist of a hair follicle and a sebaceous gland. The sebaceous gland produces oil that lubricates the skin; people with oilier skin just have a lot more natural oils. The main issue with naturally oilier skin is that the pores will get clogged with a potential bacteria and create a local infection, creating acne.
What causes Acne?
Acne can be driven by numerous reasons:
Hormones - resulting in hormonal acne
Skin type/genetics can also play a major role in the severity of the acne you may develop
Hair products - the oils from your hair products can seep into your pores leaving them clogged resulting in acne
Friction/Mechanical force on the skin - blunt friction on the skin may also result in breakouts/acne.
Excessive Face Washing - Stripping the skin of its natural oils or constant washing can trap cells resulting in worse acne
There are about 6 different forms of “common” acne.
The first form is a non-inflammatory acne. These types of acne are generally common and are known as: blackheads and whiteheads.
Blackheads - Blackheads, (along with whiteheads) are known as comedone. A blackhead is an open comedone, meaning the pore packed with skin cells, is open to the surface of the skin. These cells are exposed to oxygen leading them to darken. This means they have oxidized.
Whiteheads - Whiteheads are known as closed comedones. They have a “cover” over them. In turn, they are NOT exposed to oxygen and will not be oxidized and darkened. They are not overly visible until skin is stretched.
These forms of acne are essentially embedded into the skin, and the body typically does not respond to the form of an infection.
The second form of acne is a in-flammatory acne. These types of acnes are known as: Papules, Pustules, Cysts and Nodules.
Papules - There is a bacteria that resides under our skin titled,
“Propionibacterium Acnes” or “P Acnes” for short. When this bacteria gets trapped with a blackhead or whitehead, it will then create a Papule, (or a Pustule.) Papules are a raised lesion on the skin's surface, containing no pus, while also generally being red and inflamed.
Pustules - Pustules are a raised, inflamed lesion on the skin, filled with pus. These can be formed by “P Acnes” as well. Pustules typically occur in clusters.
Cysts - Cysts or also known as Cystic acne, is one of the most severe cases of acne. They can be irritating and/or painful and filled with pus. Cysts have most of their content on the upper layers of the skin. This type of acne can have the highest possibility of scarring if not properly treated.
Nodules - Nodules can be very similar to cysts, but they are embedded much further into the deeper tissue of the skin. Picking nodules can damage the skin and the surrounding tissue, resulting in scarring. It is important to be treated properly.
