Perfect skin can be hard to come by when you're dealing with active acne, pimples, and other types of skin concerns. With all the different kinds of spots we can experience, it can be hard to narrow down what specific type of pimple you have. If you’re not sure, here's our blog on The Different Types of Acne! Check it out so you can get the gist of what kind of pimple you may be dealing with! For today, we'll be focusing on whiteheads! Let's jump into it! 🙆‍♀️

What is a Whitehead?

Think of a whitehead as a sort of "pre" acne that can later turn into pimples. They're essentially a clogged pore that remains closed (they're also known as closed comedones). They're "closed" because they're not exposed to air the same way a blackhead is. With whiteeheads, your hair follicle is completely blocked by things like oil, sweat, bacteria, dead skin cells, etc. When your follicles are blocked, the pore gets plugs up, clogged, swells up a bit, and lo and behold you have a small bump covered by a layer of skin cells (that's why it has that fleshy color). If not taken care of, they can turn into inflamed pimples that go deeper into the skin.  

How and Where Do They Form?

Whiteheads can appear anywhere on your skin, but you'll find them more commonly around your face, neck, chest, or back area. Whiteheads are caused by different factors. Here are some:

• Excess oil production
• Dead skin cells chilling on the surface of your skin
• Bacteria
• Lifestyle/ diet
• Hormonal changes

Woo. That’s a lot of factors!😅 Honestly, it can be super frustrating hearing about this because everything is so common! But regardless, it’s important to understand why your body is reacting the way it is. So take a look at that list and consider for a moment what you think applies to you. 

How Can I Get Rid of Whiteheads?

Yay! Now to the fun part (fun for us because we love helping you find a solution!). Let’s start with the #1 rule: Hands off. Yup, as tempting as it is, you have to make sure you don’t touch, squeeze, or scratch your whitehead-- or any pimple for that matter. It will only make it worse and more inflamed. Here are some ways you can get rid of your pimples without popping them!

• Try a retinoid ✨

Retinol can help speed up skin regeneration and healing. 

• Use chemical exfoliants 🧪

Incorporating a chemical exfoliant is one of the best ways to help you get on the path to clear skin! These sort of products help slough off dead skin cells that are on the surface of your skin, making way for faster healing and brighter skin.

Here are some ingredient 101s that can help you learn more: AHA, BHA

• Spot treat 🔎

We know it’s tempting to pop pimples, bumps, spots, zits, and all that! But it WILL make it worse and possibly even scar your skin. So, let’s just not. Try spot treating instead! There are products that help with spot treating that can come in a gel form, liquid form, or even a patch! These products help focus the treatment in one area! Which is perfect for zeroing in on your whitehead or blemish! Our favorite type of spot treatments are our Spot Fighter pimple patches! They are absolutely amazing for tackling those pesky bumps!! 

Look for these ingredients in your products:

Tea Tree (antibacterial ingredient, calming)

Vitamin A (resurfacing ingredient)

Benzoyl Peroxide (antibacterial ingredient, acne-fighting)

Salicylic Acid (resurfacing and exfoliating ingredient)

Yay! Just remember to be kind to yourself and always listen to your skin. Also, if you're thinking about adding any new products, make sure you patch test! Here are some tips for patch testing!

We hope this helped and thank you for reading ❤ Always feel free to check out our TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more quick tips!

Love,

The FaceTory Team