You’re now a teenager. Finally get to drive. If you’re not a teenager, I’m sure you can relate. But, along with that comes the period in your life where you have to deal with acne. So, what is it? When your pores in your skin get clogged and bacteria forms inside them, it results in acne. You may be already noticing the red bumps and the white pimples of your skin.

Our skin is a vital part of our body, because it keeps out bacteria and other germs that could make us sick. But sometimes bacteria grow within the pores of our skin, and mixes with the sebum which comes from the sebaceous glands. We need this oil so our skin will remain soft and not dry.

Normally, our skin cells will grow and die and are eliminated through bathing. At the same time, oil or sebum dribbles out the side and is distributed around the area, and our hair grows through the surface. Unfortunately, sometimes the process doesn’t work properly, and the bacteria get trapped inside the pore, the result is acne.

Sometimes, that acne will appear as a white bump with redness that contains dead skin, white blood cells, and bacteria. The pimple can also contain “pus”, and will form a pustule. Postule is derived from the word ‘pus.’ A postule develops when the follicle wall in the cell breaks, and the white cells rush in as a healing process.

There are also another type called blackheads, they get there name from their color. But here’s an important point to remember, the black isn’t actually from dirt. It’s a combination of dead skin cells and sebum that have oxidized. The oxygen in the air causes a chemical reaction that turns them black.

All these types are referred to by the medical term ‘comedones.’ You can determine what type of comedone it is by observing if it is open or closed.

If your acne progresses, then it will take on one of these three forms. Here are the characteristics of each form. If the hair follicle breaks close to the surface, then you have a papule. They’re small, and don’t contain any pus. With a nodule, the break is at the base of the hair follicle, and there is a hard lump under the skin. A cyst is larger than a nodule, is soft, but painful.

You’re probably not looking for a biology lesson, but are looking around on the net for ‘What is Acne.’The time that you spent here will be worth it, because now you know a little more about acne. That gives you an advantage, if your knowledgeable, then you won’t spend your money on things products or procedures that don’t work.