Free Acne Information - Tips, Tricks and Secret Skin Care Techniques

There are millions of people, especially teens that suffer from acne. This can be a terrible ordeal for some people if they have severe cases of it. One of the things that is important here is that you understand what it is and what the different stages are. This can sometimes make it a lot easier to find a plan of action in order to combat it.

When a person enters the first stage of acne they will run into what are called comedones or whiteheads and blackheads as they are more commonly called. This is when the pores on the skin begin to get clogged with the dead skin cells we shed each day. This then is going to block the sebum, which is an oil that is secreted by the sebaceous glands. The purpose of this oil is to help protect your skin. When the sebum is blocked and can't be released it's going to begin to simply pile into the pores and stay there.

Whiteheads are closed comedones and they will form a mixture of the oil and dead skin cells and this will stay trapped under the skins surface. When a person has an open comedone or a blackhead this is when the pore opens up to the surface and then the oil will become oxidized which gives it it's black appearance on the surface of the skin.

The second stage of acne is when the papules will start appearing. Papules are elevated bumps that are small and found on the skin of the person with acne. This will happen when bacteria such as Propionibacterium acnes is present. This is when the acne begins to start spreading quickly because of all the clogged pores. What happens is that the white blood cells will try and fight the bacteria and this will cause the pores in the face to become inflamed. When you get to this stage this is considered a mild case of acne.

In the third stage the pustules will begin to form a few days after a person has hit stage 2. This is after the white blood cells have rushed to try and fight the bacteria and the problem has reached the surface of the skin. This is more commonly known as a bad breakout of pimples. This is a more severe form of acne and these pustules will collapse or even burst and can then inflame other areas of the skin which will lead to the rapid spread of the pimples to other areas of the skin that were not inflamed earlier.

The final stage or stage 4 is when the pustules actually do burst and then the skin around the pustules will become inflamed and then this can cause cysts and nodules to form on the skin. This is the most severe kind of acne a person can get. These nodules are lesions that are inflamed and will go deep into the skin of the person afflicted and not only are these painful but they can even damage the lower layers of the skin which can eventually lead to scarring. The cysts are larger than the nodules and they are filled with the pus, bacteria as well as dead skin cells and they can damage the tissue of the skin and leaves scars as well.