Learn about all of the different various types of acne and what causes each one.
Acne is so common that it is believed to occur in ninety six percent of all adolescents. Caused when hair follicles in the skin are blocked by dead skin cells, the skin can erupt into a sea of zits when excess oils and bacteria is produced. There are several varieties of acne and number of different severities to this common, but often annoying and occasionally harmful, skin condition.
The most common type of acne is acne vulgaris. This is the stuff that, at the simplest level ,causes pimples, like whiteheads, when a pore is fully blocked and the skin produces a bump which is white on the top and blackheads, where the pore is only partly blocked and the bump shows a black top due to melanin in the skin reacting to oxygen. As the acne goes from mild to medium severity, papules which are red bumps without a head start to appear, as well as pustules, which are filled with pus due to bacteria.
With the severe form of acne vulgaris, nodules and cysts begin to form. Nodules are larger than pustules, quite hard under the skin and can be painful. A cyst is much larger pustule. It is with this type of acne that pitting scars can begin to form.
Acne Rosacea brings with it a dark reddening of the skin as the blood vessels come nearer to the surface, adding a rash to the acne. Another form of this is Acne Rosacea Fulminans, which affects only women and adds large painful, pus-filled scars.
A more severe form of acne is Acne Conglobata, indicated by large interconnected lesions and rampant blackheads. This type most commonly affects males and has a high probability of permanent scarring.
Other types of acne are acne folliculitis, which comes with pus filled cysts and Acne Fulminans, which presents as a scarring rash.