What Is The White Stuff That Comes Out of A Blackhead?

You’ve seen blackheads before. Commonly found on your nose BUT what is that white stuff that comes out of a blackhead? Not to fear, we help you with your breakout free journey by presenting you the 3 commandments of blackhead banish 101.

1. PICK: your skin battles

As tempting as it may be, popping any blemishes on the face never does your skin any good. Squeezing blackheads can cause any inflammation to be pushed deeper back beneath your skin as well as reintroduce bacteria into the open wound. Blackheads are formed when an open comedone is filled with skin debris and oil. When exposed to air, it oxidises and turns dark brown. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not dirt that’s trapped in your pores but old skin cells and oil. Whiteheads occur when these contents aren’t exposed to the air.

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. However, skin treatments such as the Acne Beta peel can assist in reducing the risk of future breakouts.

Additionally, using harsh cleansers and rough exfoliants can cause further irritation, triggering your skin’s sebum levels to go into overdrive to compensate for the current lack of oil and hydration in your skin. An excess of oil can clog up pores which then interrupt the regular flow of oil from beneath to the surface of the skin and voila, a blackhead is formed.

Instead of irritating your blackheads and breakouts, the Acne peel will allow the dream team combo of salicylic and dioic acid to work their acne busting magic on your skin, leaving you with clear skin.

How to remove blackheads: DIY or skin treatments?

With Spring making a return soon, discover whether DIY or skin treatments are the better option in your blackhead removal journey to pore-fection! 

What are blackheads and how are they formed?

When your skin is clear, the openings around a hair follicle are free from dead skin cells, allowing the production of oil to flow to the surface normally. Blackheads are formed when the opening around a hair follicle is clogged with dead skin cells and sebum(oil). What you should never do with blackheads

• Use abrasive cleansers and exfoliants as your skin can be irritated further
• Squeeze blackheads as the inflammation can be pushed deeper back into your skin and eventually cause scarring

Acne types

Let’s make this clear – while your skin might not be clear at the moment, there are ways of tackling different acne types – let’s get your blemishes under control.  You may think that acne only occurs when someone’s face is covered in painful looking pimples but that’s not the case! With 85% of Australians aged 18-24 years old having some form of acne, you’re not alone! Mild, non inflammatory types of acne include:

1.Blackheads 

Contrary to popular belief, blackheads are filled with excess oil and dead skin cells, NOT dirt.

2.Whiteheads 

Occur when skin cells and excess oil prevent a hair follicle from opening. 

3.Comedonal acne?

Comedonal acne appears as small skin coloured bumps most commonly found on the forehead or chin. These bumps can often be treated with topical solutions – however skin treatments such as Microdermabrasion are effective to deeply exfoliate, clear away dead skin cells and even out your skin’s texture to prevent future breakouts. Moderate to severe types of acne include:

1.Papules

Left untreated, comedones can become inflamed as excess oil and dead skin cells clog up your pores. This results in papules.

2.Pustules

Appear as a whitehead surrounded by a red ring around a bump usually filled with white or yellow pus. 

3. Nodules

Are large inflamed bumps that feel firm to the touch and develop deep beneath the skin.

4. Cysts 

Similar to boils, they’re pus filled lesions.