What Differentiates Blackheads from Acne

What Differentiates  Blackheads from Acne

Blackheads are physically clogged debris, and they are NOT acne

"Blackheads" is a common layman's term that refers to plugs of hardened waxes that have clogged the pores and that are visible to the eyes. They are often associated with acne but they are not acnes, and appear black at the tips due either to oxidation or to environmental dirt overlaying them.

When it is squeezed out, only the tip of the head is black, but the rest is light beige in color. However, many of these hardened plugs of waxes may not appear to be black at all at the tips, and yet they can pose similar threats to the skin like their "black" counterparts.

 Pure Blackheads With No Acne Manifestation (Evidence showing that Blackheads are not acne)

Whiteheads ( or Milia ) They are totally different from Blackheads and Acne as most beauticians and popular skincare brands' articles and writeups often got them mixed up with

  

Constituents of Blackheads

Medically, it is known as comedo, comedo, or comedones. It is not a skin disease by itself, although it often leads to Acne Rosacea and Acne Vulgaris if not promptly treated. Almost everyone, male and female, has blackheads but in varying degrees. It can be largely prevented or removed but cannot be completely stopped. Oily skins (especially Seborrhoeic conditions) are more prone to having blackheads than dry skins, but dry skins are not spared of the blackheads problem.

The main constituents that form blackheads are hardened sebaceous secretion, surface dead cells, salt (from sweat), waste, bacteria, dirt. For those using makeup and/or skincare products, the constituents may include fats (animal or vegetable), waxes, and colored pigments (iron oxides), except non-comedogenic formulations.

Micro Image of a Single Blackhead

Formation Process of blackheads

There are about 3,000,000 cells, 100 sweat pores, and 30 sebaceous glands and hair pores per square centimeter of skin. The sweat pores excrete sweat, water, waste, and salt through the sweat ducts while also regulating body temperature.

The hair pores secrete sebaceous secretions through the gland (oil) ducts to lubricate the hair and at the same time emulsify themselves with sweat water to form a protective barrier known as Sebum Film. This creamy film helps bond the surface dead cells together, otherwise, the surface cells will appear loose and give a moldy appearance like in cases of very dry and dehydrated skins.

When oil, sweat, water, and surface dead cells are well balanced and well mixed, together they form a layer of natural translucent foundation cream that gives skin a healthy tone and supple look.

However, this ideal condition won't last long as water from the sweat will soon evaporate, leaving the remaining solid constituents behind which quickly harden into plugs of wax and block the outward flow of sebum to the surface, through the follicles and sebaceous ducts.

The retained sebum accumulates and increases in amount, and the external area hardens further and becomes overlaid with stale cells to form blackheads. If the condition is not properly treated, the sebaceous ducts and hair follicles will become enlarged, and the skin becomes more coarse, with open pores being evident. This is an ongoing natural process on every person's skin and cannot be stopped unless a person dies.

Moreover, in today's polluted industrial environment and hectic lifestyle, our skin is flexed and stretched, and as such, an ideal condition is almost impossible.

Seborrhoea

Seborrhoea is a condition of overactivity of the sebaceous glands, leading to excessive secretions and abnormal oiliness of the skin's surface. The high density of sebaceous glands in the face, scalp, center of the chest, and back causes the seborrhoeic condition, and as such, blackheads, are most evident in these areas.

Serious Seborrhoeic Skin With No Acne

    

Teenagers have the highest cases of seborrhoea. When they reach puberty, hormonal changes increase the gland activity, and secretion becomes excessive. Seborrhoea, and also blackheads, are the basis of several skin diseases, particularly Acne Vulgaris.

Blackheads With Mild Acne Vulgaris on Seborrhoeic Skin

    

Serious Acne Vulgaris

Serious Acne Rosacea

Conventional Methods of Removing Blackheads

a) Squeezing with fingers
b) Squeezing with a metal blackheads extractor
c) Suction with a glass vacuum tube

All three methods are painful, the most being method b) and will leave scars, often permanently. When the skin is ruptured by these harsh treatment methods, it will become septic and develop acne.

Method (c), however, can cause broken capillary conditions like the image below and is also not very effective. Only the very superficial dead cells and dirt may be sucked away, leaving the condition with no evident improvement.

Broken Capillaries After Blackheads Suction

Use of Cleansers and Scrubs

There are many cleansers and scrubs available in the marketplace, but apart from removing only surface dirt, some makeup, and dead surface cells, none can actually remove blackheads, as evidenced by the fact that despite whatever form of cleansers and scrubs one uses, it is still necessary for the aesthetician to physically remove blackheads by one of the conventional methods described above.

Wax deposits by Cleansers and Day/Night Creams

Worse still, most cleansers even deposit some amount of wax content onto the skin and into the pores after each application. Most cleansers, like most other day or night creams, are made from standard formulations provided free by chemical suppliers of the skincare company, and such formulations contain high wax contents. Moreover, most conventional scrubs contain coarse and sharp-edged almond husk grains or pumice stones in harsh alkaline soap bases. The coarse grains (see a micro image of sharp-edged grains below) will only damage the skin more by producing multiple cut lines on the surface skin, like the sand-paper action on a piece of wood, thus causing the skin to rupture.

Sharp-edged grains in Conventional Blackheads Scrubs

The harsh alkaline soap base will also cause skin to rupture by its dehydrating action. When skin dehydrates, the dead cells are no longer bonded together by the sebum ( i.e. the natural emulsion created by skin's natural oil secretions and sweat excretions ) to form that vital protective acid mantle layer. They separated and the skin ruptured. The ruptured skin became prone to bacterial invasion.

Scaly Dehydrated skin

Dr. Pierre Herbal Cosmeceuticals Skin Care

Dr. Pierre Herbal Cosmeceuticals Skincare Cleansers and Scrubs for Blackheads and Acne are made very uniquely from all others. They are entirely researched and developed in Dr. Pierre's own laboratories. Absolutely no standard formulations are used at all. They are truly revolutionary products. The firsts in the market. They clear the clogged debris without dehydrating the skin and without depositing any wax content into pores. They simply perform their cleansing action remarkably, leaving skin clean, soft, silky, and refreshed. You don't have to believe what we claim here. Try them out yourselves, and you'll never regret the rest of your life.

The Most Ideal Blackheads and Acne Remedy

A product or an agent that can gently and painlessly dissolve the hardened plugs of comedones and bring them to the skin surface for simple, easy wiping off.

But is such a Blackheads Removal product available and where can one find it? Yes, this is something everyone has been looking forward to for many years. But at long last, thanks to DR. PIERRE HERBAL COSMECEUTICALS SKINCARE Laboratories in Singapore, which has spent over 3 years of research and development (from 1986 to 1990) to create such products. They are the most ideal, painless solution to comedones in this generation - a breakthrough in the skincare industry indeed. Now, DR. PIERRE HERBAL COSMECEUTICALS SKINCARE Wondergel Ginseng Exfoliating Gel, Wondergel Ginseng Purifying Scrub ( as well as Sage Purifying Scrubs ), and ClearPore Serum are the world's answer to a safe, convenient, and painless way of removing Blackheads. The first such products in the world's skincare industry, DR. PIERRE HERBAL COSMECEUTICALS SKINCARE Wondergel Ginseng Exfoliating Gel, Wondergel Ginseng Purifying Scrub, and ClearPore Serum are currently the talk-of-the-town, attracting local and even foreign media to focus on these products. A French cosmetics and perfumeries writer of a famous European beauty magazine has also highlighted DR. PIERRE's Wondergel Ginseng Exfoliating Gel in their magazine.