Whiteheads And Blackheads; What's the difference

By now, most people do know that there such things as whiteheads and blackheads when it comes to pimples.

But how do these come about and how do they differ?

Well, it’s noteworthy to note that first of all, acne is a disease of sebaceous glands.

And these sebaceous glands produce sebum and are located all over the skin except few places such as palms, soles and lips. Sebum is the natural oil that protects the skin. The skin has very small pores, which give passage to the hair to grow. Sebaceous glands also open in these pores and the sebum reaches the top of the skin through these pores.

Sometimes, the pore opening gets blocked by dead skin cells. This prevents the sebum going out and it collects inside the gland. This leads to formation of blackheads and whiteheads. Blackheads and whiteheads are also called as comedones. A comedone is defined as- a sebaceous follicle that is plugged and filled with sebum, dead cells, etc.

So how exactly do they differ:

Well on one hand a blackhead forms if air oxidizes the sebum. Oxidized sebum looks black, that is why the name- blackhead. As the pore is open at the top in blackheads, the blackheads are also known as open comedones.

whereas the other, whiteheads, form when the skin covers the sebum inside. Whiteheads are also known as closed comedones.

For the treatment of these disorders of the skin, I would simply recommend the other tips for acne treatment as aforementioned in this blog.

All in all, here’s to clearer skin and better health.

Aje

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