Acne blemishes come in a variety of different sizes and shapes.
There are two general types of acne blemishes - non-inflamed and inflamed.
Non-inflamed blemishes tend to appear as little red dots on the surface of the skin, they resemble a rash of sorts and you might not even notice them at first.
Nonetheless, if you irritate a blemish or it becomes infected with bacteria it will get inflamed.
Inflamed blemishes are the common acne blemishes we know and hate, these tend to swell up, and cause paid and red circles appear around infected areas.
There are four main types of inflamed blemishes.
Papules: This is an inflamed lesion which is surrounded by a red circle.
It lacks a whitehead or pus.
They develop as a result of the breaking of the follicle wall, bacteria and other cellular debris then invade the skin.
This happens when a pore is filled with debris and oil or when the papule is squeezed (don't do it!).
Papules usually evolve into pustules.
Pustules: This is your average pimple.
It's inflamed, has a whitehead and is circled by a red area.
Their size ranges to anything from small to quite big.
Pustules develop when white blood cells invade the papule.
You can identify pustules by their white cap.
Nodules: This is an inflamed lesion which is fairly large and lies deep under the skin.
They look like painful, hard lumps under the skin.
Nodules occur when a follicle wall ruptures inside the skin.
This infectious debris from the follicle now drains into the other follicles nearby.
Cysts: These are very big inflamed lesions.
They are fluid filled soft lumps under the skin.
This is the most severe case acne infection and you should consult a dermatologist immediately of you suffer from this type of acne blemish.