Acne Types

Acne develops when your natural oils are unable to get to the surface of the skin, hence the term “clogged pores”. Beneath the skin these oils, dead skin cells, and bacteria mix together to form pimples. There are different degrees of acne from mild to severe. You might want to familiarize yourself with some acne terms so you can find which treatment will work best for you. The all-purpose term “lesion” is used to mean a physical change in the skin. There are several kinds of lesions such as:

• Comedones: Comedones is a nice word for your everyday whiteheads and blackheads.
• Papule: Papules are small, solid lesions elevated just above the skin’s surface. Commonly they are grouped together in patches that are barley visible and feel like bumps when you run your hand over them.
• Nodule: A nodule is an inflamed, solid, dome shaped lesion that usually extends into deeper layers of the skin. Due to this, it can cause scarring and can be vary painful. This is considered a severe type of acne.
• Cyst: A cyst is a large lesion that contains a liquid material. They also extend into deep layers of the skin and can likely cause scarring. They can be extremely painful, occur in groups with other nodule type lesions, and sometimes resist treatments.

Acne mostly occurs on the face, but can also be found on the back, neck, chest, shoulders, scalp, upper arms and legs. It can affect anyone at any age or stage in life. Luckily there are several types of treatments to help with acne.