The best way to deal with Blackhead and Whitehead bumps on your skin

Those annoying little bumps on your skin. White ones, black ones and all other kinds of bumps. Let’s see how we might be able to get rid of at least two types through proper skin care. I'll get to the rest in future blogs. 

Blackheads: They are technically known as open comedones— they begin deep in the lining of our pores. They’re essentially a type of clogged pore. This is how they get formed:

Your oil glands produce excess oil. The oil mixes with dead skin cells and impurities in the pore lining. The oil and impurities move through the pore to the skin’s surface. Once the oil mix is exposed to the air (or more specifically oxygen), it reacts with the chemical inside (melanin) which then oxidizes the oil and dead skin cells. This causes the 'blackhead' to turn black.

With Whiteheads, the mix does not get exposed to the surface and oxygen and so they stay white or yellow.

So how come some people don’t get any bumps? Well there are other factors involved in the formation of bumps. These include skin type, genetics, environment or lifestyle and the pore lining structure. When the lining becomes damaged, misshapen, or is just smaller than normal, it makes it much easier for clogs to form.

This is why even dry skin people may have black or white heads. They can get them on their nose. The nose has more oil glands than any other part of the face, and excess oil in this area is a key component in the formation of blackheads.

Cleansing will help remove excess surface oil, but a cleanser can’t reach farther into the pores where the blackheads are rooted.

The most common ingredients used to treat and reduce blackheads and whiteheads are salicylic acid, retinoids, AHAs, and azelaic acid. Blackheads react well with salicylic acid in cleanser form because the acid can help penetrate the pore and unclog the pore. Whiteheads benefit well from topicals such as retinoids, AHAs and azelaic acid. ⁣⁣And both can benefit from removing one of the major culprits, dead skin cells, by using a gentle exfoliant like BOA. BOA works well with both types of acids (AHAs and BHAs) to clean the skin from inside and outside.

So my suggestions is to use a good BHA/Salicylic acid (at lower concentration about 2-5%). Use it with BOA as an effective exfoliation step. Then use a mild cleanser and see your skin is looking clean, refreshed and healthy. This is a fundamental skin preparation step.

Now your skin can accept any treatment or moisturizer that you want to apply. Your topical product is also more effective because it can be absorbed easier. Don’t forget to protect your skin with an SPF product appropriate to your skin and climate.

WANT TO TRY BOA? As a thank you for reading our blog, please use code 'BOAACADEMY' for 10% OFF your BOA products.

We are so confident you'll love BOA, all purchases are eligible for our 30-day money-back guarantee. 

The BOA Skin Academy Blog hopes to bring you educational, insightful and interesting reading material on the topics of skincare, beauty, rituals, self-care and wellness. All topics are chosen and written by the BOA team, with credits where credit is due. If you have a suggestion for a topic or a question about what we have written, we would love for you to get in touch. Please email us at info@boaskincare.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

For all our BOA customers, please leave a review on our website for a discount on your future purchases.