There are four main types of pimples. These include papules, pustules, nodules, and cysts. Papules and pustules can be treated at home. Try a benzoyl peroxide cleanser or a salicylic spot treatment.
Pimples (pustules): Pus-filled bumps (papules). Papules: Small, discolored bumps, often red to purple or darker than your natural skin tone. Blackheads: Plugged pores with a black top. Whiteheads: Plugged pores with a white top.
There are three main types of acne: comedonal, papules and pustules, and nodulocystic. The best acne treatment for you depends on which type of acne you have. Starting acne treatment early can help prevent scarring.
The most common types of pimples are: Whiteheads (closed comedones): These pimples are sealed over and have a small white pus filled top. Blackheads (open comedones): These pimples have a small, black opening at the top. Although these pimples are black, the color is not from dirt.
Although people can pop some noninflamed whiteheads and blackheads if they take the necessary precautions, they should never try to pop or extract inflamed acne. This type of acne is deeper in the skin and may be more likely to cause scarring and infection if a person tries to squeeze it.
A pustule is a bulging patch of skin that's full of a yellowish fluid called pus. It's basically a big pimple. Several conditions, ranging from something as common as acne to the once-deadly disease smallpox, can cause pustules.
However, multiple sebaceous oil glands can be connected to each pore, so the sebum clogged beneath your initial pimple can lead to nearby pores getting clogged. This, in turn, leads to multiple pimples in one spot.
A clogged pore is the root cause of any pimple, including pustules. Oil, bacteria, or dead skin can block the pore. Pustules occur when the walls of the affected pore or pores begin to break down.
The pimple's core holds a plug of dead skin cells and sebum , a natural kind of oil. When you squeeze your pimple, you push this plug further into the affected skin pore. 2 The pressure from the popping also may cause the wall of the pore to burst.
According to doctors, there is a reason why such pimples called "love" or "crush" pimple. They say boys and girls become much too conscious about their appearance when they discover someone has a crush on them and get stressed about their looks. This may result in pimples be on the nose and around the lips.
On the surface, cystic acne can look like large, red boils. Cysts, like nodules, reside deep underneath the skin's surface. But because they're filled with pus, cysts are softer than nodules. The pimples that define cystic acne burst open, often leading to infection.
A sebum plug can look like a tiny bump under the surface of the skin or it may stick out through the skin like a grain of sand. When a sebum plug forms, bacteria that normally lives harmlessly on the surface of your skin can start to grow within the follicle. Inflammation follows, causing a breakout.
Nodules are a type of hard pimple that can be large and painful. They form when an infected skin pore or follicle is located deep below the skin surface. Cysts are found deep below the skin when a pus-filled membrane forms around the infection.
Blackheads, or open comedos, are clogged pores that are filled with dead skin cells and oil, not dirt or grime as myth may suggest. The blackish portion of a blackhead — aka the sesame seed — is due to the oxidation of the dead skin cells and oil when exposed to air.
If you once squeezed a whitehead until it burst, it's possible that the entire blockage wasn't removed—meaning that pimple could become inflamed again, says Dr. Zeichner. The irritation or exposed bacteria could also cause another pimple to form right next to your previous one.
Pores become clogged if there is too much sebum and too many dead skin cells. Bacteria (especially one called Propionibacterium acnes) can then get trapped inside the pores and multiply. This causes swelling and redness — the start of acne: A pore that gets clogged, closes, and bulges out from the skin is a whitehead.
Blind pimples can develop when sebum (oil), bacteria, and dirt become trapped deep within a hair follicle. The end result is a painful lump under your skin that doesn't have a “head” as other pimples might have. If you have oily skin, you may be more prone to blind pimples than people with dry skin.
A blind pimple, also known as cystic acne, is a pimple that lives beneath the surface of your skin and doesn't come to a head. It is often in the form of a red, painful bump beneath the skin. Blind pimples are caused by oil getting trapped beneath the skin.
Hard pimples develop when dead skin cells, sebum, and bacteria enter the skin's surface. Once under the skin, bacteria can multiply quickly. This can cause the skin to become irritated and even infected. Hard pimples appear as raised bumps on or under the skin's surface.
Cysts: These are pimples filled with a thick, yellow or white fluid composed of dead white blood cells, small pieces of tissue and bacteria (pus). Cysts can cause scars.
Never Try to Pop It
Most cysts are practically impossible to pop by squeezing or picking at them with your fingers. In the process of trying to pop it, you can end up sending bacteria and sebum below the hair follicles. This can cause the materials to spread even further and result in more cysts.