Acne

Acne sufferers and those who suffer from a condition that Dermatologists call RETENTION KERATOSIS, have over active sebaceous glands which cause the skin to clog with dead cells on the surface and this in turn results in bacteria breeding.

It is thought that hormones are generally responsible for some glands producing more oil than others. It is sometimes a reaction to environments and artificial stimulants such as the over-use of the wrong products that cause the problem to accelerate.

Dead skin cells are constantly being shed from the epidermis. Sometimes, and especially in an oily skin, these cells are not sloughed away and so can build up, eventually falling back into the openings of the Pores, and as a result the pore is blocked.

Fresh air can not get down into the follicle to deliver detoxifying Oxygen. The consequence is a plugged pore with a moist warm environment. This is the perfect breeding ground for Bacteria. As the bacteria gathers and multiplies, it swells in the follicle, and inflammation occurs. Both whiteheads and blackheads start out as a "microcomedone". These become either a whitehead or a blackhead or eventually a pustule spot.

Either way, blackheads and whiteheads are filled with trapped sebum and bacteria.

Whiteheads

When the trapped sebum and bacteria stay below the skin surface, a whitehead is formed.

Blackheads

A blackhead occurs when the trapped sebum and bacteria partially open to the surface and turn black due to melanin, the skin's pigment. Blackheads can last for a long time because the contents very slowly drain to the surface.