WHAT ARE BLACKHEADS
A blackhead, as many of us unfortunately already know, is a brownish or blackish plug in the upper layers of skin. The medical term is an open comedo. It’s not made up of dirt, as some suppose. It is formed of sebum (oil) and skin debris which use hair follicles as their normal pathway to the skin’s surface, but sometimes get involved in traffic jams. When the clog thus formed is exposed to air through the follicle opening, the contents are oxidized and turn dark. If the opening is obstructed and the plug is not exposed to the air, a whitehead forms. Both blackheads and whiteheads are forms of non-inflammatory acne—acne without the surface swelling and redness caused by overgrowth of local bacteria.
TREATING BLACKHEADS
Blackhead Home Treatment—What Works and Why
Most blackhead problems can be easily treated at home if you know what helps and what makes them worse. In fact, the list of things that can trigger blackheads is the perfect set of clues to their treatment.
Trigger: Androgen hormones such as testosterone, which both sexes produce liberally in adolescence.
Treatment: True, there’s not much to be done about this trigger, but you can address the excess production of oil that results. To reduce oil production and the acne bacteria that can turn blackheads into full-blown pimples, salicylic acid comes highly recommended. And it performs both tasks without drying or irritation.
Trigger: Over-hydrated skin from premenstrual hormones, hot-humid weather conditions, heavy moisturizers or other products/makeup containing oil.
Treatment: Limit oil when you can, but hormones…humidity? When you can’t prevent excess oil, remove it through careful cleansing. That’s simple!
Trigger: Contact with certain chemicals found in skincare, dyes and cosmetics.
Treatment: Choose your products carefully. They should be oil-free and formulated to not clog pores (noncomedogenic), but be aware that what’s kind to one person’s skin may not be kind to all. Pay close attention to your own skin’s reactions.
Trigger: Excess dead cells on the skin’s surface which block free flow of materials through pores.
Treatment: Regular use of an exfoliating agent with alpha hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid will remove excess dead cells before they do damage. Salicylic acid (see hormone solution above) is a beta hydroxy acid, which also has a peeling effect.
Trigger: Rupture of the follicle by harsh scrubbing or squeezing.
Treatment: Don’t scrub and for heaven’s sake don’t squeeze! Ever! When you pick or squeeze blackheads, irritation gives bacteria WARP-drive entry into the area to potentially cause more clogs, whiteheads, and the nastier pimple problems of pus pockets and cysts. Use proper procedures and the kind of specialized tools professionals use for extractions.
Skin RX Clinic Treatments Follow the Science
At the Skin RX Clinic, we’ve developed products that address the biological process of blackhead development, to treat them safely and effectively. We have products to help you cleanse, reduce oil, spot-treat blackhead clusters and perform sterile extractions.
The encapsulated salicylic acid in our medicated acne spot treatment targets the sebaceous glands and reduces sebum secretion. Our acne and oil control gel contains both salicylic acid and a botanical blend that’s clinically proven to regulate oil and decrease surface bacteria.
For extractions, we recommend the use of our German-made precision wire extractor, which is also included in our Extractor Kit #1, along with anti-bacterial wipes, sterilized single-use lancets, and our 15% Glycolic Smoothing Gel for a complete, safe extraction and treatment procedure.
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