What Is Acne - A Brief Users Guide For Parents, Teens And The Rest Of Us.

 Acne is a disease in which the hair follicles on your skin become clogged and infected. This results in one of the three types of acne lesions to form.

The production of excess sebum is the culprit. It causes the follicles to become blocked. The medical community is still uncertain as to what triggers this excess production. Sebum is produced by the sebaceous oil gland and everybody needs a small amount to achieve healthy skin. Sebum helps protects the skin from harmful bacteria by washing it away.

Types of Acne Lesions:

The three types of acne lesions are whiteheads & blackheads (also known as closed and open comedones respectively), papules & pustules, and cysts.

Whiteheads as the name suggests, look like white bumps. They form under the skin and never reach the surface. This makes them very hard to eliminate. Blackheads grow upward and break the skins surface. This enlarged follicle and the oxidation of the dead cells, sebum, and bacteria have a black color, hence the name.

Papules form when a whitehead burst and the bacteria spreads to the surrounding tissues under the skin. This causes your body's immune system to increase its fight on the infection making the inflammation worse. They appear as small, firm, red bumps. Pustules form as the body's immune system continues to fight the infection by sending pus to the area. They appear similar to a papules with the addition of a yellowish white head.

Cysts are the third and final type of acne lesion. They form when a pustule worsens and expands further down under the skins surface. They appear red or purple and are very painful. This is the most serious of all types of acne lesions.

Types of Acne:

Acne can not only be classified by the types of acne lesions, but further broken down by acne type; depending on what types of lesions you have. People whose acne consists of whiteheads and blackheads would have what is called comedonal acne. A mix of blackheads, whiteheads, papules and pustules acne lesions is called acne vulgaris and is the most common type of acne. The third type of acne is called cystic acne and it is when someone has all three types of acne lesions with numerous cysts.

Who Can Get Acne:

While most people associate acne with teens, anybody can experience some type of acne at any age. That said certain groups of people are more likely to experience acne. They include teens, people under stress, people who have a family history of the disease, people taking certain drugs and adult women.

About the author:

Mark MacKay is a researcher, marketer, and former Acne sufferer. For more information on Acne Myths, Causes, Types of Acne, Acne Treatments, Skin Care, Adult Acne, Teen Acne, Acne Discussion forum, latest research articles and much more visit Mark's Acne Explained web site now.

 Mark MacKay

More Articles 

Creating A Healthy Skin and Clearing Acne Naturally - Lena Sanchez
Creating A Healthy Skin and Clearing Acne Naturally © By Lena Sanchez Acne affects more than 20 million teenagers, and hundreds of adults according to the AAD (American Academy of Dermatology). It is the most common problem in the United States....

Acne Cure With a Pill, What Else Is Working Today? - Martin Sephens
One of the most frustrating and embarrassing skin conditions faced by nearly every teen, and many adults, is Acne. This condition is caused by pores in the skin becoming clogged, and the skin's natural oils becoming trapped. The pores usually...

Acne Can Be A Problem At Any Age - Tim Gorman
Adult, teenage and baby acne have something in common; no one likes the problem. Adult, teenage and baby acne problems are surrounded by myths. Adult, teenage and baby acne myth #1: This myth concerns babies. People believe babies do not have...

Determining what really causes Acne - Hector Milla
Having acne can be an agonizing experience for any teenage, especially for adults who never seemed to got out of the phase. Tons of acne medications get sold every year, this is a clear indication that people with acne are determined to get rid...

Some Methods For Acne Treatment - Stella Pobre
Acne is no laughing matter for those who suffer from this ailment, but acne treatment does not have to be difficult to find. With some of the more common types, it can be relatively easy and cheap to resolve the condition, and...

Types of Acne Treatment Solutions For Your Skin - Ashley Green
Treating your acne can be an overwhelming task what with all of the medications available these days. The best way to find treatment for your acne is to first learn about your skin. There are 3 main skin types. Knowing what type of skin you have...

Acne, Puberty and Girlfriends - Ryan Fyfe
An inflammatory disease of the skin, acne, comes about due to changes in the skin structure, that consisty of hair follicle and their sebaceous glands. Commong during puberty, acne, is the bodies response to changing testosterone hormones....

10 Acne Truths and Myths You Need To Know! - Robert Walker
Reports show that over 90 percent of all adolescents and almost 25 percent of all adults are acne sufferers. And although acne affects about 50 percent of all adult women, acne does affect males and females worldwide, regardless of nationality. ...

Acne Talk For Teenagers - Mark Freeman
Acne is painful - on the inside. We live in a culture where not just youth, but beauty is worshipped. It's everywhere and you can't escape it. The results of having acne can be emotionally devastating for teenagers as they are extremely conscious of...

Acne Benzoyl Peroxide Does An About Face - Rebecca Prescott
One of the problems with benzoyl peroxide topical acne treatments is that they can be quite irritating, particularly to sensitive skin. Those fans of benzoyl peroxide will thus be pleased to learn that one skin care company that...

What You Should Know About Acne - Amber Lowery
What You Should Know About Acne There are many different types of acne and with that come many theories, myths, and treatments. The exact cause of acne remains a mystery. Why some pores are affected by acne and others aren’t, is not known. ...

Get Clearer Skin Through Proper Acne Treatment - Jeff Little
Acne can be an expensive problem to have, especially if you are in the habit of buying products that don't seem to work. The primary reason acne is so expensive is negligence. When you have acne, there is no short cut solution to...