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Acne
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Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammation of the pilosebaceous unit, that is, the pairing of a hair and the oil-producing gland alongside it. It shows up mainly on the face.
It all begins with a lesion you cannot even see: the microcomedone. It is a small plug of keratin, the tough protein of the skin, lodged low in the follicular infundibulum, the channel the hair comes out of.
From there it can go two ways. If the plug keeps filling with sebum and keratin and the channel stays closed, the result is a closed comedone, what people call a whitehead. If instead the opening widens, the comedone is open and its contents darken, because the lipids oxidize and there is melanin inside. A blackhead is not dirt: it is the same plug, now open and oxidized.
In brief
Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammation of the pilosebaceous unit that shows up mainly on the face.
Its primary lesion is the microcomedone, a small plug of keratin low in the follicular infundibulum.
If that plug fills with sebum and keratin, a closed comedone forms; if the opening widens, oxidized lipids and melanin turn it black.
A blackhead is not dirt: it is the same plug, now open and oxidized.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAcne Vulgaris, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated