The Different Types of Acne and How to Deal with Them
Acne comes in a variety of different forms and intensities. Understanding each kind of acne — and exactly what’s happening under the skin for each type — will hopefully help you see how to tackle each kind of breakout.
So, let’s dive right into the different kinds of acne!
Comedones: Blackheads and whiteheads
A comedo is a pore that is clogged due to oil and dead skin cells intermingling to form a sticky mass. BLACKHEADS are comedones that are open at the surface of the skin. The top of the comedo turns black because the oil mixes with oxygen and oxidizes. WHITEHEADS are comedones that are closed at the surface of the skin. You’ll usually see a white mass underneath the skin.
HOW TO TREAT BLACKHEADS:
The goal is to remove the sticky mass from the pore. You can go about keeping pores clean through a few various ingredients. Turn to skin clearing exfoliator BHA (beta hydroxy acid), which is the same thing as salicylic acid. It’s a great way to unglue pores as BHA can cut through sebum and loosen everything in the follicle. You know when you have a greasy pan that’s sort of hardened? It’s much gentler on the pan to simply use a soap that can degrease and loosen/melt the grease rather than to scrape it off. Also, like de-greasing a pan, sometimes BHAs can slide the grease right off, and other times, it may loosen it, but there may need to be some patience in repeating the BHA treatment.
To refine on the daily, try this toner (Mizon AHA BHA Daily Clean Toner) is very gentle, so it’ll take time to see a difference. This is also great at helping to prevent blackheads with gentle exfoliation each day in a very gentle way. At night, apply this overnight mask (Eco Your Skin Lavender Bedside Mask) while sleeping and the salicylic acid in this hydrating sleeping mask goes to work for you. Wake up with softer skin, more refined texture and blackheads that may be a whole lot less clogged. Tip: you can also apply directly on blackheads only, if wanted, and use daily. If you notice a visible blemish, try this spot treatment (Aromatica Tea Tree 53 Blemish Spot) it’s formulated with Capryloyl Salicylic Acid which is commonly known as a slightly less drying form of salicylic acid. Also formulated with a high concentration of tea tree oil, this can also help fight further bacterial infection so that blackheads don’t turn into more intensive forms of acne.
We also love to use masks for an instant boost. Instead of using an acid, you can also opt for masks that help draw the blackheads out through different ingredients. Kaolin clay and charcoal are popular ingredients which help purify and draw out impurities effectively. This mask (Caolion Blackhead Steam Mask) uses gentle heat creating a steam like effect which helps open up pores to get that gunk out! Oxygen and charcoal combine in a magical formula (Caolion O2 Bubble Pore Mask) that draws out the blackheads and impurities, but bubble around the pores helping to loosen everything up for it to all come out! Remember, blackheads are pores that are clogged. Don’t over-scrub and try to “scrub” blackheads off as that’ll only damage the skin barrier. It’s all about gently coaxing the sticky mass out by loosening it up or using masks to draw them out!
HOW TO TREAT WHITEHEADS:
Whiteheads are a bit trickier to treat than blackheads since the skin is covering the whitehead. You can do all the same as above to treat whiteheads, but a great step to do first is to exfoliate that top layer of skin so that the whitehead can come out faster. With acne (and whiteheads are a form of acne), you want to avoid physical exfoliation as this can spread infection or simply irritate skin causing skin to weaken and allow bacteria to enter more easily. Opt for a great chemical exfoliant that’ll help slough off the dead skin cells. While BHAs are great chemical exfoliants (with the added benefit of being able to cut through sebum), AHA, or glycolic acid, is a great chemical exfoliant that can help remove those dead skin cells on the surface of the skin. The only thing to note is that BHAs should be used before AHAs when being used together because of the lower pH level! Mizon’s AHA 8% Peeling Serum is effective because it balances out the exfoliating action with soothing aloe, hydrating sodium hyaluronate, moisturizing panthenol, and anti-inflammatory arnica extract. For both blackheads and whiteheads, they love to be soothed. Ingredients like licorice and green tea can help calm your comedones down.
Papules, Pustules, Nodules, Cysts
Papules, pustules, nodules and cysts are the kind of acne with visible inflammation – going from the least inflamed and least deep into the skin and to the most inflamed to the most deep into the skin.
PAPULES are comedones that have visible inflammation and look like small pink or red bumps on the skin. When you touch a papule, it could hurt a little.
PUSTULES look a little bit like a whitehead, but with a red halo around the raised area. The raised area is usually filled with pus.
NODULES are larger, inflamed bumps that typically are quite solid and firm when you touch them. They develop deeper within the skin and usually hurt when you touch them.
CYSTS are the worse kind of acne that develop deep within the skin, are usually quite painful when you touch them, filled with pus, and have quite a lot of inflammation.
HOW TO TREAT INFLAMED ACNE
Remember, acne is a wound. So, the best thing to do is treat the acne wound with kid gloves while you are actively helping to combat the inflammation and prevent further spreading of the infection.
1. Do not pick at your acne or pop your acne. This could lead to the infection spreading and more scarring down the road. A dermatologist can help you safely extract acne or treat it, so as tempting as it is, it’s best to keep your hands off your breakouts.
2. Do not use a physical exfoliant or anything that will irritate skin through any mechanical tugging.
3. Make sure to cleanse gently and thoroughly. This means an oil cleanser to remove sebum to help pores stay clearer and draw out oil-based impurities. Cremorlab’s Cleansing Gel Oil isn’t greasy so it’s especially great for those who are afraid to use an oil based cleanser. Follow up with a low pH water-based cleanser (we like Atopalm’s gentle Moisturizing Cleansing Facial Foam). Don’t rub too hard, just gently massage to cleanse. Using a low pH cleanser is important as this doesn’t disturb your skin barrier, which needs to stay strong to keep bacteria out and keep moisture in.
4. Use a pH balancing toner to keep skin happy after cleansing! Even with a low pH cleanser, water can also be a high pH. Usually, skin is fine and can bounce back to a healthy pH, but with acne, again, your skin is wounded, so a toner can help ensure that your skin gets balanced again, fast. For oily skin, try Be the Skin Botanical Pore Toner which helps mattify skin. For drier skin, try the royal jelly infused moisturizing Be The Skin Botanical Nutrition Power Toner.
And then of course, it’s always great to see your dermatologist. They may be able to prescribe you with medicine that can help with acne. They can also help perform “acne surgery” to safely remove gunk from super inflamed and clogged pores. And as we always say, it’s best to get to the root of an issue. Fighting inflammation could help you get ahead of the breakout cycle. So, in addition to treating acne topically, eating thoughtfully and a different lifestyle could potentially go a very long way in dealing with acne.
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