Before you begin to treat this obnoxious problem, you need to understand what it really means, what causes it to occur and how it can be different from acne, pimple, whitehead or a zit. When you understand all these points you will know how to accurately treat it.
Once we have defined the underlying causes and have identified the problem, we will be able t get rid of the blackheads for good. Thus the first question we need to ask ourselves is what is a blackhead?
A clogged pore is the humble start of any breakout. Each hair follicle is in fact a combination of a sebaceous gland, a follicle and a pore. Blockage of pore by dead skin cells can cause clogging of pores. The sebum oil secreted by sebaceous gland gets trapped inside the pore and the light coloured oil causes a whitehead.
When a pore is partially choked up, some air can get through to the oil. Oxygen reacts with the trapped oil which darkens in color giving rise to a blackhead.
The next stage is a pimple or zit. Bacteria living on the skin consume the sebum oil. The oil trapped in the pore is a feast for these bacteria. Furthermore, the bacterial growth rate is aided by the lack of air inside the pore. These conditions allow the bacteria to multiply. This triggers an immune response from your body. White blood cells gather at the pore, causing inflammation and the raised bump of a pimple.
The treatments of blackheads or pimples can be categorized in two ways. First type includes exfoliants and involves facilitating the removal of dead skin cells. Certain elements can pierce the clogged pore and remove the blockages. Hence, the sebum oil gets out of the pore.
The other form of treatment is to kill the P. Acnes bacteria. Such treatments mostly use benzoyl peroxide to increase the level of oxygen on the skin, thereby successfully killing the bacteria and curing the pimple.
Lemon juice is considered to be a perfect exfoliating substance for the skin. It is also said to contain salicylic acid. The lemon juice gets into the pores which have been clogged and remove the clog. This will let the oil from the sebum glands get out, making the skin free of blemishes.
But lemon juice can cause rashes as it is rather taxing on skin dues to the number of acids in it, including citric acid.. Doctors often recommend you to test your skin type by using lemon juice on a small patch of skin. That way you can determine if you have an adverse reaction. It can sting as well, especially if you accidently get it in the eyes.
The sodium bicarbonate compound in baking soda makes it an excellent exfoliate. The grainy particles are good for scrubbing the dead cells from skin. This will be a good choice for gently massaging into the skin. It will also clean the pores and let the trapped oils out. Since it is mild on skin, it will not cause any harmful rashes.
Baking soda actively scrubs off the top layer of skin. It is gentle, and should not damage the skin too much. But you can over exfoliate. Scrubbing beyond a certain point may affect the skin below the surface. You may experience tenderness, inflammation and potentially more acne.
Toothpaste is another home remedy for acne. Toothpaste consists of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and alcohol. This hydrogen peroxide will raise the oxygen levels and kill bacteria. Alcohol is also deadly for bacteria. Alcohol is lethal since it causes dehydration. Alcohol is often used as a general disinfectant because of this action. And as said above, baking soda is an exfoliant. Toothpaste, hence, is a mixture of both the treatments.
Toothpaste tends to dry out the skin and eventually cause redness, irritation and peeling of skin. Some people have reported that toothpaste burned their skin.
Once we have defined the underlying causes and have identified the problem, we will be able t get rid of the blackheads for good. Thus the first question we need to ask ourselves is what is a blackhead?
A clogged pore is the humble start of any breakout. Each hair follicle is in fact a combination of a sebaceous gland, a follicle and a pore. Blockage of pore by dead skin cells can cause clogging of pores. The sebum oil secreted by sebaceous gland gets trapped inside the pore and the light coloured oil causes a whitehead.
When a pore is partially choked up, some air can get through to the oil. Oxygen reacts with the trapped oil which darkens in color giving rise to a blackhead.
The next stage is a pimple or zit. Bacteria living on the skin consume the sebum oil. The oil trapped in the pore is a feast for these bacteria. Furthermore, the bacterial growth rate is aided by the lack of air inside the pore. These conditions allow the bacteria to multiply. This triggers an immune response from your body. White blood cells gather at the pore, causing inflammation and the raised bump of a pimple.
The treatments of blackheads or pimples can be categorized in two ways. First type includes exfoliants and involves facilitating the removal of dead skin cells. Certain elements can pierce the clogged pore and remove the blockages. Hence, the sebum oil gets out of the pore.
The other form of treatment is to kill the P. Acnes bacteria. Such treatments mostly use benzoyl peroxide to increase the level of oxygen on the skin, thereby successfully killing the bacteria and curing the pimple.
Lemon juice is considered to be a perfect exfoliating substance for the skin. It is also said to contain salicylic acid. The lemon juice gets into the pores which have been clogged and remove the clog. This will let the oil from the sebum glands get out, making the skin free of blemishes.
But lemon juice can cause rashes as it is rather taxing on skin dues to the number of acids in it, including citric acid.. Doctors often recommend you to test your skin type by using lemon juice on a small patch of skin. That way you can determine if you have an adverse reaction. It can sting as well, especially if you accidently get it in the eyes.
The sodium bicarbonate compound in baking soda makes it an excellent exfoliate. The grainy particles are good for scrubbing the dead cells from skin. This will be a good choice for gently massaging into the skin. It will also clean the pores and let the trapped oils out. Since it is mild on skin, it will not cause any harmful rashes.
Baking soda actively scrubs off the top layer of skin. It is gentle, and should not damage the skin too much. But you can over exfoliate. Scrubbing beyond a certain point may affect the skin below the surface. You may experience tenderness, inflammation and potentially more acne.
Toothpaste is another home remedy for acne. Toothpaste consists of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and alcohol. This hydrogen peroxide will raise the oxygen levels and kill bacteria. Alcohol is also deadly for bacteria. Alcohol is lethal since it causes dehydration. Alcohol is often used as a general disinfectant because of this action. And as said above, baking soda is an exfoliant. Toothpaste, hence, is a mixture of both the treatments.
Toothpaste tends to dry out the skin and eventually cause redness, irritation and peeling of skin. Some people have reported that toothpaste burned their skin.
No comments:
Post a Comment