Developing blackheads is a very common skin problem, and getting them can probably create an extremely embarrassing situation to most people, especially during the adolescent days. These tiny, black bumps on the skin tend to appear when the body’s hormone secretion leads to the increased production of sebum – an oily secretion of the glands situated under the skin. Almost 50 million Americans are affected by this dermatological condition. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, it is the most common skin disorder in the present-day United States.
Typically, blackheads are mild type of acne. They are tiny to small size mounds that develop on the surface of the skin mainly because of clogged follicles of body hair. It is these tiny mounds that we call blackheads because of their looks. They are typically black or dark in color. Scrubbing them excessively in an attempt to remove them can easily make the condition worse.
Contrary to popular belief, bad hygienic conditions do not contribute to the formation of blackheads. Blackheads usually grow on your face area, and even more on your nose tip and often on the chin; however, they can also grow on the other parts of the body like:
Blackheads are relatively flatter than pimples with a characteristically raised texture. However, since they tend to change their appearance and blackness, they can sometimes lead to embarrassing situations, and even psychological and social issues in some people.
The most common symptom of blackhead is the typically small and black lesion. Blackheads are not to be directly confused with acnes. In fact, if you get blackheads, you are developing the symptom of acne.
To be more specific, blackheads are caused by open pores on the skin and differ in a few ways from various other lesions caused by acne. Since blackheads do not get infected, they are non-inflammatory and will not give you any uncomfortable sensation or pain like the way pustules and pimples do.
Blackheads are primarily caused because of the overproduction of skin cells by the body. However, there are several other factors that are responsible for the growth and development of blackheads including changes in hormones as well as age. Though they can appear at any age, this skin problem seems to be more common during the time of one’s puberty when the production of sebum rises significantly because of the change in hormonal levels.
Both boys and girls experience higher secretion of androgen, the male sex hormone, during puberty. Androgen has the tendency to trigger higher sebum secretion, and resultantly, a higher turnover of the skin cells during adolescence. Interestingly, women can also experience blackheads later in their life because of hormonal changes during pregnancy, menstruation, and also because of the use of birth controlling pills.
Though sebaceous filaments resemble blackheads very closely, they are different from the latter and can grow on the nose. Sebaceous filaments are rather flat to the touch, tend to be smaller in size, and can grow in groups. Most importantly, unlike blackheads, sebaceous filaments are not a form of acne.
