Acne Pimples

What is acne (pimples)? 
Acne (pimples) is a very common skin condition that affects most secondary school students at some stage. Because acne is so common, many people refer to it as a normal part of growing up. Even though acne is a common problem, it can have serious effects on the way a young person performs at school and acts socially.  
A pimple begins as a blockage to a sebaceous (oil) gland duct. This usually starts at puberty when certain hormones are released. The hormones cause the sebaceous glands to overproduce sebum (oil). We normally have dead skin cells and bacteria on the surface of our skin, which can combine with the sebum to form a plug in the hair follicles. These plugs are known as closed comedones (white heads) or open comedones (blackheads).  
What happens then all takes place under the skin. Even though the sebaceous gland duct is blocked, oil continues to be produced and the gland keeps getting bigger and bigger, a bit like a balloon. Bacteria grow in the blocked gland and produce fatty acids and other very irritating substances. 
Eventually the balloon bursts and releases the irritating material. This causes 
intense inflammation which is what we see as the pimple. 

There are several different types of spots (pimples) including blackheads, white heads, papules, pustules, nodules and cysts. A person with acne will often have a mixture of different types of spots, although one type may be more common. Acne usually occurs on the face, neck, chest, back and shoulders where there are large numbers of sebaceous glands.