When we see uneven skin texture, bumps and redness, we tend to automatically start picking at our skin. This is the #1 worst thing you can do to your blemishes! A blemish has a maximum life span of 2-5 weeks when left untouched. Once you start picking at your blemishes, they can hang around much longer - leading to long term scarring, infected tissues surrounding the area, redness or more. If you have lots of bumps with oil in them (whiteheads) we suggest seeing a professional for extractions. We offer extractions in all of our Facial Treatments at our skincare clinic. We're going to cover the difference between the various bumps we see on the skin.
All of these start with the same general cause: clogged pores.
Every pore on our skin is the opening to a follicle. Our follicles are made up of a hair and a sebaceous (oil) gland. The oil gland releases sebum (oil), which travels up the hair, out of the pore, and onto your surface skin. The sebum keeps your skin lubricated and soft. The larger the pore, the more sebum likely to be secreted. Blackheads | Whiteheads Excess oil production, dead skin cell buildup and bacteria may block a pore, creating whiteheads. Blackheads are a result of oxidization: the pore being exposed to air. These can both be extracted by professionals. You can also treat them at home with
facial steams, gentle
exfoliation and routine
face masks. Blackheads are often related to a water/oil imbalance, and whiteheads happen when an infection occurs. Touching a spot on your face can introduce bacteria to it, picking spots, and constantly leaning on your hands and talking on your warm, greasy phone can cause white heads. Generally whiteheads are more topical than internal. We suggest using our
Clear Skin Advanced Spot Concentrate on whiteheads, one drop on the spot every day.
Papules | PustulesYour pores may get very irritated and the cell walls will break, creating larger bumps on the skin and resulting in redness. Papules are small red, raised bumps often created by infected hair follicles. Pustules are the same, but they contain pus, so you will notice they are a slight yellow colour at the top. These bumps are very sensitive as they are extremely inflamed and irritated. We recommend putting ice, aloe or yogurt on them, avoiding extremely hot showers (to avoid creating more inflammation), and using spot treatments, like our
Turmeric + Honey Spot Treatment or
our Clear Skin Advanced Spot Concentrate.
*Always remember to avoid touching the blemish often, as it creates more irritation Nodules | Cysts
A nodule is a growth that forms under your skin. A nodule may be filled with inflamed tissue or a mixture of tissue and fluid. Nodules are usually wider than pimples, harmless, and easily treatable. Cysts are sac-like pockets of tissue that contain pus, infection and are just beneath the skins surface. They can grow almost anywhere in your body or on your skin. Skin cysts don't usually hurt, but can become tender, sore and red if they become infected. Another sign of infection is foul-smelling pus coming out of it. We recommend applying the same ingredient + our
Clear Skin Advanced Spot Concentrate on papule + pustules and to avoid picking and squeezing a cysts (as this will result in a longer lasting scar and more infection).
For any skincare questions please email us: treatments@provinceapothecary.com
We love helping you with your skincare issues!
xx Cassandra
