Dr Gauri's
Skin & Hair Clinic
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About Comedones :

A comedo is a clogged hair follicle (pore) in the skin. A comedo can be open (blackhead) or closed by skin (whitehead), and occur with or without acne.

Causes :

• Increased size of sebaceous glands (oil glands) producing more oil (Sebum) along with blockage of opening of sebaceous glands (oil glands) results indwelling and tiny bump

• This is repeated several times to create a rash of spots with a rough, grainy texture

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Types :

• Open comedones: known as Blackheads

• Closed comedones: known as Whiteheads

Open comedones

It is wide open to the skin and develops when excess sebum overflows through the pores and onto the surface of the skin. The sebum combines with naturally occurring bacteria and dead skin cells and multiplies, leading to an outbreak of spots or acne.

The open spot or comedone allows air to access its centre, oxidising the sebum within which changes from white to a dark colour. This is known as a blackhead.

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Closed comedones

Develops in the same way as an open comedone. But they have blocked openings instead which prevents oxygen from reaching the centre of the spots and changing their colour.

Closed comedones remain the same colour and are known as ‘whiteheads’.

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COMEDONES:Tips for Managing

1. Properly clean your face twice daily with a mild non over-drying cleanser. Avoid drying soaps and products containing such chemicals as salicylic acid, peroxide, alcohol. In addition to irritation and oversensitivity, they may over dry your skin. In response, your skin will produce more, not less, oil.
    

2. Avoid scrubbing your skin. Vigorous scrubbing may induce more oil production and also cause abrasions that allow bacteria to access deeper layers of the skin, which is exactly what you don't want.
    

3. Do NOT pick, pop or squeeze your whiteheads and blackheads.This may lead to more bacteria to enter the pores, creating a vicious inflammation cycle; it also destroys tissue and leads to acne scars and marks
    

4. NEVER sleep with your make-up on. If you use makeup, use non-comedogenic products. Also ALWAYS wash it off properly at night.
    

5. Do not forget your shower. If you exercise, you must clean your skin from head to toe after the session and always change your clothes! Do not use hot water, just warm. Hot water may actually strip too much oil from your skin and your skin’s sebaceous glands will respond by producing more oil!