Get Rid of Zits

If you are an adult suffering from acne, it can be difficult to deal with the zits on your face. Even saying the word “zit” can make you feel like you’re in tenth grade again. However, even if you feel sixteen years old at heart, it doesn’t mean you need to show it in your face.

What are Zits?

Zits are skin blemishes that can happen pretty much anywhere on the body, except the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. In most cases, when people use the word zits they are referring to pimples or white heads. While there are a number of different types of blemishes that are encompassed by the word zit, they are basically caused by in the same way.

What Causes Zits?

Zits form when the oil glands, or sebaceous glands, in the skin become blocked and inflamed. In normal skin, sebum, or oil, is produced by these glands to lubricate the hair follicle and surrounding skin cells. The oil travels to the surface of the skin up the hair and out through pores, or small holes, in the skin. The amount of oil being produced by the glands is stimulated by hormones in the body. Oily skin is a result of overproduction by these glands.

Pores can become blocked by dead skin cells and dirt. Often the dead skin cells are from the lining of the pore itself and have not been shed by the skin, leading the blockage in the pore. When a pore blocked close to the surface of the skin, a blackhead is the result. If the blockage occurs deeper in the skin, pimples will occur

With blackheads, inflammation rarely occurs due to the blockage being at the surface.

Bacterial infection and inflammation of the skin is what causes the different types of zits to be produced. Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is a bacteria that is found on everyone’s skin. Its role is to protect the skin from being invaded by more harmful types of bacteria. During the process of zit formation, P. acnes is trapped in the blocked pore with the excess oil. As it consumes oil, it releases chemicals that cause skin irritation.

The growth of the bacteria in the skin, as well as the irritation caused to the surrounding skin cells, causes an immune response by the body. The cells of the immune system attack the bacteria in the blocked pore and cause the production of pus. Signs that the skin is inflamed are redness, swelling, warmth and pain.

Types of Zits

There are three basic types of blemishes that are called zits:

• Whiteheads

– These zits occur when the skin blockage occurs deeper in the skin than with blackheads, which leads to a build-up of excess oil within the skin. As the oil builds up, a flesh colored or white bump will be produced on the skin’s surface. Whiteheads are not inflamed, but they are more likely to lead to more serious types of zits that are infected with P. acnes and become inflamed.

• Papules

– These types of zits are inflamed. They are red and often quite painful. They do not have a distinct head, like that seen with a whitehead or pustule.

• Pustules

– Pustules occur when the walls of the oil gland break, causing the infected material to invade the surrounding skin cells. This in turn leads to a greater inflammation of the skin. These zits are larger than papules or whiteheads and are red with a white or yellow center, which is made up of the excess oil, pus, dead cells and dirt.