types of acne

There's big ones and small ones that have itch and pain, there's white, black and red and they all have a name!

Comedonal Acne: typically small, usually painless, often located in the T-zone but can appear anywhere. There are a few specific names for comedones as follows:

• Open Comedones - aka "black heads". Looks like an open pore. Common on face, especially nose and forehead.

• Closed Comedones - aka "white heads". Small, under-the-skin bumps that are common on the forehead, cheeks.

Inflammatory Acne: usually larger than comedonal acne, hormonal acne, acne mechanica

• Papules - catch-all term in dermatology for a bump (something you can feel vs flat)

• Pustules - a papule with fluid (mix of blood and pus). 

• Nodule - papule that is larger than a centimeter, can be deep in the skin and often painful

• Cysts - Nodule that can be deep to the skin, fluid filled and painful