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What is Acne?

Acne is caused when tiny holes in the skin, known as hair follicles, become blocked. It can be hard enough dealing with acne itself, but when you are left with acne scarring to deal with too, it can feel like there is no end in sight to the problem.  

How severe your acne is will determine what treatment you should have. The severity of acne is often categorised as:

  • mild – mostly whiteheads and blackheads, with a few papules and pustules  
  • moderate – more widespread whiteheads and blackheads, with many papules and pustules
  • severe – lots of large, painful papules, pustules, nodules or cysts; you might also have some scarring
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What causes Acne?

Acne can be caused by a multitude of factors from hormonal to environmental. Acne usually occurs when the pores in your skin get blocked with dead skin, oil and or bacteria. Your pores are the opening of the follicle; the follicle is made of hair and sebaceous gland (oil).  

The gland lubricates the skin and hair to stop it from drying out, this is done by the gland producing a substance called sebum. With acne the gland will begin producing too much sebum, and this then mixes with the dead skin cells and they combine to create a plug in the follicle.  

This blockage of the pore, if it is closer to the surface, will show up as acne but depending up on the blockage and if bacteria is able to contaminate the plug, it will affect the type of acne that you suffer with.  

Types of Acne

White heads

This type of acne forms through a combination of dead skin cells, bacteria and oil that’s trapped inside your pores. They appear yellow or white looking and are filled with a liquid consistency.

Blackheads

Blackheads appear on your skin like small bumps because of hair follicles being clogged inside your pores. These bumps are called blackheads because the surface looks dark or black.  

Papules

This type of acne appears as swollen red bumps that we are usually aware of when having a standard breakout. Papules can cluster into a rash and be either brown, purple, pink or red in colour.

Pustules

Similar to papules, pustules are small bumps on the skin that contain fluid or pus; they appear as white bumps surrounded by red skin.

Nodules

Nodules are raised soft tissue bumps filled with fluid developed just below the skin. It can also turn red as the area gets more inflamed.

Cysts

This type of acne appears as large, red, painful breakouts deep in your skin and as bacteria is trapped underneath your skin, this causes the area to become swollen and painful to touch.

Types of Acne Scarring

Ice Pick Scars

Ice pick acne scars are often narrow, but ‘dig’ deep – usually reaching past the top levels of the skin’s surface. This type of scarring is one of the most common types, along with Boxed scarring.

Rolling Scars

Rolling scarring causes the skin to have an undulating appearance. This is due to damage beneath the skin’s surface. Rolling scars are usually shallow but wide.

Boxed Scars

Similar to ice pick scarring in the fact that they are also common, these scars are wider and feature well-defined edges. They appear more oval in shape.

PIH Acne Scars

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) refers to the dark spots that remain on the skin after an acne has healed. Unlike other forms of scarring, PIH does not typically change skin texture but rather pigmentation.

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Treatments we offer for Acne

At Este Medical, we offer a range of expert quality, proven acne treatments for a variety of acne conditions.

Your Este Medical skincare specialist will be able to advise you as to which acne treatment will be best for you. We understand that acne is often much more than just a skin problem, as the surrounding psychological factors that come into play when a person is dealing with acne can often become just as big – if not bigger – than the actual acne itself.

Este Medical’s Director, Sam, went through this himself so understands how low it can make you feel. If you’re looking to change things and get help with your acne or acne scarring, get in touch with us today and begin your skin and confidence transformation.

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Visia Digital Skin Analysis

Visia Digital Skin Analysis

When we use the Visia Digital Skin Analysis to assess your skin, we are using a tool that allows us to see deep below the surface layer of your skin and detect a multiple of potential concerns. This advanced technology allows us to pick up on issues such as spots, wrinkles, texture, pores, UV spots, scars, red areas, porphyrins and more.

Book a Consultation

Call us or fill out our quick and easy online form and we’ll be in touch to arrange a date that best suits you

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