What Type of Acne Do I Have? (Updated March, 2020)

Whether you’re struggling with whiteheads, blackheads, papules or cysts, one thing is certain—you want them gone.

The best way to treat your acne is by understanding what type of acne you’re dealing with and why it occurs in the first place.

Here are three things men should know about the different types of acne:

1. The different types of acne can be sorted into three groups: comedones, inflammatory acne and nodulocystic acne.
2. Approaching each group with a different treatment plan is key to eliminating your acne.
3. Nodulocystic acne is one of the more severe types and may require a visit to a dermatologist if other treatments are ineffective.

Comedones

Comedones is a medical term that refers to a clogged hair follicle in the skin.

You probably know them as whiteheads and blackheads.

Comedones can be open (blackheads) and closed (whiteheads).

That black junk you see in your pores isn’t dirt. It’s what happens when trapped sebum and dead skin cells in the pore are exposed to air.

Whiteheads are closed comedones that haven’t broken through the surface of the skin.

Therefore, the material in the pore is white and not black.

Treatment for Comedones

The best treatment for blackheads and whiteheads is a simple men’s skin care regimen.

Comedones are the result of clogged pores, which can be treated by regularly using a daily facial cleanser, face scrub (twice per week) and moisturizer to keep your pores unblocked and hydrated.

Your skin care regimen doesn’t need to be complicated to keep whiteheads and blackheads at bay.

Just four products are all it takes to prevent comedones from forming.

Inflammatory Acne

If you aren’t proactive about your whiteheads and blackheads, bacteria known as P. acnes can creep in and inflame your pores.

Inflammatory acne can appear in the form of papules and pustules.

Papules are hard to the touch and appear as a group of small bumps. Pustules are similar to papules except they contain pus.

When your pores become inflamed, the body sends white blood cells to the area to fight the infection.

The pus you see in pustules is simply a bunch of dead white blood cells and infected fluid.

Treatment for Papules and Pustules

Along with your regular skin care regimen, using salicylic acid is an effective form of treatment for papules and pustules.

Salicylic acid has been used to treat skin for over 2,000 years (see claim: "Salicylic acid has been used to treat various skin disorders…") and is extremely effective on mild to moderate acne (including pustules and papules).

Similarly, anything you can do to decrease swelling will help reduce the size of your papules and pustules.

Eating anti-inflammatory foods (including leafy greens and salmon) may help reduce swelling and fight bacteria-causing acne.

Nodulocystic Acne

Nodulocystic acne is considered a severe form of inflammatory acne that appears in the form of nodules and cysts.

It occurs when sebum, dead skin cells and bacteria become trapped deep inside the pore, causing an infection.

With the infection located so deeply inside the skin, the inflamed area is often large and can be painful to the touch.

Unlike nodules, cysts are filled with pus and can burst, spreading the infection to other areas of the body.

While nodulocystic acne isn’t as common as other forms of acne, it can be extremely bothersome both mentally and physically.

Not only is nodulocystic acne painful, studies show that it can also negatively impact mental health.

Treatment for Nodulocystic Acne

Treating nodulocystic acne will take a powerful acne treatment system formulated for your skin.

If you have tried your girlfriend’s acne treatment system and found it ineffective, there is a good reason for this—men and women have different skin.

Our skin is tougher and many acne treatment systems are designed to penetrate the outer layer of a man’s skin.

If you’re going to use an over-the-counter acne treatment system, be sure to get one that is formulated for a man’s skin.

If over-the-counter treatments prove ineffective, seeing a dermatologist is the next logical step.

Dermatologists can use a few different techniques to reduce the swelling and may prescribe you medication that can eliminate deep, painful nodules and cysts.

“Over a 3 year period, I probably spent over two grand in skin care and still had acne. I decided to reach out and request to be a part of the Tiege Hanley Acne trial and I have been blown away. After two weeks, my skin was clear. It’s not the acne cream alone that cleared it up, but how all of the products work together as a whole.” Kyle B., NJ. 

Understanding Your Acne Is the First Step to Treating It

Knowledge is your best weapon against stubborn acne.

We see many guys fighting a losing battle against acne because they don’t understand why it’s occurring in the first place.

We offer a better solution to regular guys who want their face to stay blemish-free. With the Tiege Hanley skin care system, you have everything you need to fight acne with none of the hassle or expense of other skin care systems. Order now and discover the secret to handsome-looking skin!

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Why Is My Face Breaking Out