So, Is Acne Popping Bad? Acne and Pimples are common problems that people of all ages can face. When someone has a breakout, they may want to know how to get rid of their pimples fast. And, while a person may not completely eliminate pimples or acne in a day, they can make some significant progress.
Meaning, that if you’re in such a situation, you can easily get rid of acne scars by naturally shrinking blemishes and reducing redness. Also known as spots or zits, pimples are a part of acne. They are most likely to occur around puberty, but they can happen at any age.
During puberty, hormone production changes, causing the sebaceous glands, (located at the base of hair follicles), to become overactive. And as a result, pimples are most likely to occur during the teenage years and around menstruation.
How Sebaceous Glands Produce Acne
Notably, the sebaceous gland is a small oil-producing gland present in the skin of mammals. And usually, they’re attached to our hair follicles. They release a fatty substance, sebum, into the follicular duct, and then to the skin surface.
These glands are distributed over the entire body with the exception of the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. And they’re most abundant on the scalp and face. They are known to secrete a mixture of fats. Such as triglycerides, wax esters, squalene, and cholesterol, as well as the cellular debris.
Related Topic: A Beginner’s Guide To Men’s Skincare
Eventually, this is discharged as sebum through the sebaceous duct connecting the gland to the hair follicle. Sebum helps to form the slightly greasy surface film of the skin. Thus it helps keep the skin flexible. In addition to preventing the skin’s loss of absorption of excessive amounts of water.
Sebaceous glands begin to form from embryonic hair follicles during the fourth month of gestation and are large and well-developed at birth. They shrink during childhood but enlarge again with the onset of puberty. However, the maturation of the glands seems to be dependent on circulating levels of male hormones, in particular testosterone.
How Pimples & Acne Are Different
The difference between acne and pimples is that acne is a disease and pimples are one of its symptoms. In other words, Acne is a condition affecting the skin’s hair follicles and oil glands.
Under your skin, your pores are connected to glands that make an oily substance known as sebum. The glands and pores are connected by a canal known as a follicle that has thin hair that grows out to the skin’s surface.
When sebum and dead skin cells clump together, they form a plug in the follicle. Bacteria in the plug causes inflammation, leading to red pimples in acne. Pimples most often affect the face, back, chest, and shoulders.
This is because there are many sebaceous glands in these areas of the skin. And all in all, there are several different types of pimples, and they have different signs and symptoms:
1. Whiteheads and Blackheads:
Also known as a closed comedo, whiteheads are small pimples that remain under the skin. They appear as a small, flesh-colored papules. Blackheads are also known as open comedo, these are clearly visible on the surface of the skin. They are black or dark brown, due to the oxidation of melanin, the skin’s pigment.
Some people mistakenly believe they are caused by dirt, because of their color, and scrub their faces vigorously. Scrubbing does not help. It may irritate the skin and cause other problems.
2. Papules and Pustules:
Papules are small, solid, rounded bumps that rise from the skin. They are often pink. Pustules are pimples full of pus. They are clearly visible on the surface of the skin. The base is red and the pus is on the top.
3. Nodules and Cysts:
Nodules have a similar structure to papules, but they are larger. They can be painful and are embedded deep in the skin. Cysts are clearly visible on the surface of the skin, filled with pus, and are usually painful. Cysts commonly cause scars.
What causes Acne?
Acne vulgaris, which is the main cause of pimples, affects over 80 percent of teenagers. After the age of 25 years, it affects 3 percent of men and 12 percent of women.
According to a study by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, common beliefs that suggest stress and dirty skin cause acne aren’t true.
Therefore, the exact causes of acne haven’t been identified yet. But, it’s been determined that certain things can trigger acne or make it worse.
Such triggers include:
- squeezing or picking at existing pimples,
- pressure, such as from collars, hats, helmets, and backpack straps,
- hormonal changes, such as puberty, pregnancy, and the menstrual cycle,
- cleaning or scrubbing your skin too vigorously, and high humidity,
- cosmetics, such as oil-based products, sunscreen, and hair products,
- medications, such as corticosteroids and anabolic steroids, etc.
Also, greasy foods and chocolate don’t cause acne in the majority of people. If you have a pimple that you’re about to pop, stop! You’ll want to read this first.
What Is Acne Popping?
Too often, people worsen their scars by squeezing pimples and other acne blemishes. Without knowing that, by doing it themselves, it can backfire badly. Thus, this is what is called acne popping.
For instance, when you pop pimples by yourself, you run the risk of getting an infection from the bacteria on your hands. Squeezing pimples and other acne blemishes may seem so simple that anyone can do it. But, there is an art to doing it right.
Takeaway,
Finally, I hope the above-revised guide was helpful and useful for your daily health & fitness lifestyle. But, if you’ll have some additional contributions, suggestions, questions, or even thoughts, please feel free to share them in the comments box below.
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