Blackheads (Comedones)

Blackheads, also called comedones, are small, flesh colored, white, or dark bumps that give skin a rough texture. The bumps are found at the opening of a sebaceous follicle (pore). Comedones are the skin-coloured, small bumps (papules) frequently found on the forehead and chin of those with acne. Open comedones are blackheads; black because of surface pigment (melanin) rather than dirt. Closed comedones are whiteheads; the follicle is completely blocked. Larger and deeper uninflamed bumps are called nodules. They are more common on the trunk than on the face. The cells lining the sebaceous duct proliferate excessively in acne (cornification) and may block the sebaceous duct forming a comedone. These may be so small that they are not visible to the naked eye (microcomedones). Blackheads are one of the ways in which acne presents

itself, along with whiteheads, and larger, painful cysts. Blackheads occur when dead skin cells block the pore through which a hair emerges from the skin, and the oil that would normally travel to the surface of the skin gets stuck and solidifies. Acne is essentially due to the over-activity of the oil producing glands. It is primarily a genetic condition, but there is a large range of treatments available to those who suffer from acne.