Wednesday, April 22, 2020
About 80% of people have acne, so you're not alone. But, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to treating pimples. That's why we created this helpful guide that gives you the 411 on what ingredients and products you can use based on the kind of acne you have.
Acne is broken up into three main groups:
Comedonal Acne
Occurs when excess oil and dead skin cells get trapped in your pores. There are two types of comedonal acne:
- Closed Comedone (aka whiteheads/clogged pores): Happens when a layer of skin forms over the gunk in your pore to create a flesh-colored bump.
- Open Comedone (aka blackheads): When the gunk in your pore gets exposed to air, it oxidizes and turns black.
- Inflammatory Acne
- Once the gunk in your pore mixes with naturally occurring bacteria, it creates an infection causing visible swelling and inflammation. There are also two types of inflammatory acne:
- Pustules (aka red bumps with white pus): These are simply red bumps with a head on the top (your more traditional-looking zit).
- Papules (aka red bumps): Sometimes your pimple doesn't form a head and just looks like a red bump.
You might have adult acne or could have suffered from teenage acne in the past but truth remains that pimples can be quite the downers in our lives. While you’ve visited dermats or tried grandma’s ultimate natural treatments, have you ever wondered what are the types of acne you can possibly suffer from? Yes, it’s true—there are various types of pimples and if you’ve been worried about treating them, you first need to educate yourself on what they are. We spoke to one of the country’s best dermatologists, Dr. Aparna Santhanam to break it down for you.
1. Whiteheads
These are tiny blemishes that look whitish in appearance. They are called closed comedones and have oil and dead skin enclosed inside. They are caused by excess oil production that settles into pores. Dr. Aparna Santhanam says, “Both whiteheads and blackheads are known as grade 1 acne. They’re milder forms of acne. These require just a mild face wash that controls oil and tackles inflammation, perhaps something like the Pond’s Pimple Clear Face Wash.” After all, this face wash is infused with Active Thymo-T Essence that uses Lock+Clear technology to banish pimples.
2. Blackheads
Small blemishes that look like black dots are known as blackheads. These are open and when exposed to air, the debris inside your follicle gets oxidized. They are often a result of dead skin buildup or if your skin isn’t exfoliated properly.
3. Papules
Papules are acne that don’t contain pus. They’re what your pimple looks like when it’s passed beyond a whitehead and there’s debris, which causes inflammation. This kind of pimple requires a soothing agent that calms it down. Santhanam explains, “Papules are reddish forms of acne that can be anywhere in the face—forehead, cheeks or nose. These don’t require antibiotics and can be treated with mild cleansers.”
4. Pustules
Talking about pustules, Santhanam says, “These are bigger acne and you can almost see clusters of acne when you have pustules. This is when you might require antibiotics or even glycolic acid.” These are a lot like papules, except that pustules have pus in them. They’re red, yellowish and whitish in the center.
5. Nodules and cysts
Nodules and cysts appear when blocked pores get all the more irritated and go deeper into the skin. While nodules are hard, cysts are smaller, contain pus and are rather painful. These are the ones that invariably leave a scar if you’re the kind who pops a pimple. According to Dr. Santhanam, this is the kind of acne that needs both antibiotics and topical treatments.