The 'white stuff' that comes out of a blackhead or more commonly in pimples is pus. Pus is formed from inflamed debris, dead white blood cells and is also produced as the body's response to bacteria invading the system. This can it will heal on its own without treatment.
Pustules are a type of pimple that contains yellowish pus. They are larger than whiteheads and blackheads. Pustules appear either as red bumps with white centers or as white bumps that are hard and often tender to the touch. In many cases, the skin around the pustules is red or inflamed.
Nodular acne is a severe type of acne. It causes hard lumps or knots (nodules) to develop deep under your skin. The nodules start below the surface and appear on the skin as red bumps. These bumps usually don't have a whitehead or blackhead at the center.
A dilated pore of winer is basically an overgrown blackhead that occurs when dead skin cells plug a hair follicle causing keratin to collection. When Dr. Lee removes this patients DPOW (the nickname pop fans have assigned to the bump), she proclaims that it's 'like a rock. '
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.
Sebum plugs are small white spots that can occur anywhere on the body. They are most visible on the parts of the body where there is most hair. However, we do not have sebum plugs on the palms of our hands or under our feet. The small dots or spots may be easily confused with small pimples or hair follicles.
Sebum and dead skin cells in one tiny, white package. Cute! Medically, a whitehead can be called a closed comedo. (All types of pimples start as comedones.)
Cystic acne is a type of inflammatory acne that causes painful, pus-filled pimples to form deep under the skin. Acne occurs when oil and dead skin cells clog skin pores. With cystic acne, bacteria also gets into the pores, causing swelling or inflammation. Cystic acne is the most severe type of acne.
However, squeezing out blackheads can create several problems: You may not remove the entire blackhead. You may even push the blackhead further into your skin, which can cause painful irritation. You may introduce bacteria or more oil into the blackhead opening.
Squeezing a pimple can lead to a nodule (hard, red, painful blemish deep within the skin) or a cyst. A cyst develops when a membrane forms around the infection in the dermis, creating a soft, fluid-filled lump that can become large and painfully inflamed.
Prolonged exposure to the air causes the blockage to oxidize and darken. Because the pore gets stretched out of shape, it will fill back up again even after it is emptied. These stubborn pores are most likely to occur on the face, chest and back.
If bacteria living on the skin also become stuck in the follicle, this can cause inflammation and infection. White blood cells flow in to fight infection, and, as a result, dead white blood cells, bacteria, and other debris form pockets of pus. Pus filled pimples do not reflect an individual's cleanliness.
Blackheads break the surface of the skin, which is why they are called open comedones. Their black appearance is not because of dirt but because of air reacting to the inside of a pimple.
If you have small pebble-like bumps beneath the surface of your skin that will not extract, you likely have what's called maturation arrest acne, or closed comedones trapped under the skin. Although this type of acne generally isn't inflamed or painful, it can give your skin an uneven or dull appearance.
Nodular acne forms when a type of bacteria called P. acnes that live on the skin get trapped inside the clogged pore. This may lead to an infection that affects the deeper layers of the skin. The infection can cause inflammation in the deep skin layers, creating hard nodules.
Milia won't pop and can take a long time to go away. Milia can show up anywhere, but they are most common on the face. They may appear around the eyes and cheeks, nose, and forehead. Milia don't hurt or itch.