Have you ever gotten a little too close to your magnifying mirror? It's a scary thought! Sometimes an overall clear complexion can come undone when you notice whiteheads on face areas that used to be pristine. Don't worry, we are going to walk you through exactly how to treat whiteheads and get your skin back to its healthy best.
What Are Whiteheads?
Closed Comedones, better known as Whiteheads, are a type of acne lesion that appears as small, flesh-colored or white bumps on the skin. Whiteheads happen when hair follicles become clogged with oil, dead skin cells, and sometimes bacteria. They're considered a non-inflammatory, mild type of acne.
Whiteheads vs Blackheads
Whiteheads can also have a darker side: blackheads.
Both Whiteheads and Blackheads can appear on multiple different parts of your body.
Whiteheads
Whiteheads can appear anywhere but most often are found on the face, especially in areas with more oil glands, such as the forehead, nose, and chin (this combined T-shaped area is called the T-zone). Slightly outside the T-zone whiteheads on cheeks are also common. They are covered by a thin layer of skin, which gives them their "closed" appearance. Also because the clogged area is covered by a layer of skin, whiteheads are not exposed to air and they don't oxidize like blackheads. As a result, they don't turn dark in color.
Blackheads:
Blackheads appear as small, dark or black spots on the skin's surface. Because of that exposure Open Comedones, or Blackheads, have a darker appearance due to the clogged pores and follicle areas contact with the air. The top of the pore remains "open", allowing the trapped sebum oil and dead skin cells to darken over time.
How to Get Rid of Whiteheads
Luckily both whiteheads and blackheads are considered mild forms of acne, and they can be managed through proper skincare and hygiene. Let's go over some methods of taking care of them now.
To Pop or Not To Pop
Popping acne is one of life's great temptations, clearly by the view count on explosive dermatological based online videos! But should you actually do it?
It's generally not recommended to pop whiteheads or any type of acne lesion, as it can lead to potential complications and make matters worse. Here's a few reasons why popping whiteheads isn't the way to go:
- Infection: Popping a whitehead can create an opening in the skin, allowing bacteria to enter your pores and potentially lead to an infection. (That's bad.) Infected acne can often be more painful and take a lot longer to heal. Pass.
- Inflammation: Popping a whitehead can cause inflammation to spread to the surrounding skin, making the area appear even redder and more swollen than before. No thanks.
- Scarring: Messing with acne lesions, especially by squeezing them, can damage your skin's tissue and lead to scarring. Acne scars can be difficult to treat and may be permanent. I'm good.
- Spreading: Yup. Popping a whitehead can push the contents of the lesion deeper into the skin, potentially clogging other areas, spreading to adjacent follicles and creating new pimples. WHY!
- Slower Healing: Popped whiteheads take longer to heal than those left unbothered. Don't disrupt your skin's natural healing process! Ok?
So whiteheads on chin? Whiteheads on nose? Leave them peacefully un-popped!
So What Do I Do About Treating Whiteheads?
Instead of going into a pop frenzy we have a few natural alternatives that will have your pores and follicles back to a manageably even and clear state.
Spot the Problem
The best way to deal with whiteheads is to treat the problem at the source. At Eight Saints we love our Quality Control Acne Spot Treatment. In a pinch with a pimple or whitehead? It's our go-to natural acne spot stick. And the built-in wand applicator makes it easy to precisely pounce on problem pores.
Quality Ingredients Shine Through
Quality Control Acne Spot Treatment uses a powerful active ingredient: Maximum strength 2% Botanical Salicylic Acid to deeply clean and unclog your problem pores.
Superstar Active Ingredient Salicylic Acid:
2% Botanical Salicylic Acid is a natural acid that is derived from plant sources. We always focus on the natural at Eight Saints. Our gentle botanical formula breaks down the connections between skin cells quickly and deeply, penetrating the whiteheads' surface to dissolve pore-clogging debris immediately.
But it doesn’t stop there. Our Quality Control Acne Spot Treatment works tirelessly to reduce inflammation and redness - all while smelling amazingly warm and cozy with a subtle clove scent.
Acne Under Control
So get your acne situation back under Control, gently apply the Quality Control Acne Spot Treatment with the applicator wand to problem areas where breakouts or whiteheads are occurring, and then get some rest!
Find Your Soulmate in the Fight Against Whiteheads
If you are concerned with a more general happenstance of whiteheads and blemishes and your skin isn't shining as bright as it can have we got good news for you! Our Soulmate Brightening Treatment is a concentrated brightening treatment and AHA exfoliator that counters and treats acne and whiteheads at the source. This time the active ingredient is Glycolic Acid!
Glycolic Acid: The Heart and Soul of a Deep Cleanse
Glycolic acid is a type of alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) with immense natural exfoliating and rejuvenating powers. It's derived from sugarcane and has the smallest molecular size among alpha hydroxy acids, allowing it to effectively penetrate problem skin areas.
Glycolic acid puts your skin’s natural cell-shedding process into overdrive. Soulmate Brightening Treatment removes dull, old, and dead skin cells and reveals your new, healthy, clear skin below.
Everyday Plan for Beating Whiteheads
While Quality Control Acne Spot Treatment is great for specific instances of whitehead flare-ups, our Soulmate Brightening Treatment is great for everyday use. It also has a luxurious, quick-absorbing matte finish that makes it a great base layer under makeup and other products.
Both are great separately and even better in tandem to create a whitehead treatment plan that will get you feeling clean, clear, and confident.