If you have acne on the face, you most probably have both whiteheads and blackheads. They have the same cause and when you want to know how to get rid of whiteheads, you probably also need to find out how to get rid of acne in general.
Whiteheads are the little white bumps under your skin and one of their favorite locations is your face. There are many effective methods and ways to get rid of whiteheads: you can use a whitehead extractor, you can apply natural remedies, and you can use one of many over-the-counter products or prescription treatments available on the market.
Whiteheads are also called closed comedones and are formed in skin pores. What they really are is a mix of skin oil and dead skin cells clogging up pores. They do not differ much from blackheads. The only difference is that blackheads are open pores, but whiteheads are closed up with a thin skin layer. This skin layer prevents oxygen from getting into the pores and your skin sebum does not oxydate. When it oxydates, it turns black, which does not happen in the case of whiteheads.
Now, the problem with whiteheads is similar to that of blackheads. They are very tempting…they temp you to pop them out with your fingers. They seem to be created for this very purpose. However, if you do, you run a risk of getting your skin infected and inflamed. Now, let’s take a look at some ‘non invasive’ ways of getting rid of whiteheads.
There are many over-the-counter products available for treating this type of non-inflammatory acne. There are washes, lotions, creams and gels. Some of them contain benzoyl peroxide, others contain salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acids. Some products contain natural ingredients, such as herbs or natural oils or acids. For example, they can contain tea tree oil or lemon juice, which help to dry up your oily skin, to exfoliate faster and to kill germs.
Before you use any of those products, you can prepare you skin for better treatment results. One of the ways to do it is to steam your face or to do a hot compress. Steaming is done by exposing your acne skin to hot steam. You may boil water and bow down over a pot with hot water to steam your skin. Of course you have to be very careful with this procedure, as you may get burned.
Using a hot compress is probably a lot safer. You simply take a clean towel, soak it into warm water and place it on the area where you have whiteheads, on your face or on your nose. Leave it on for couple of minutes, take it off and you are ready for treating your acne. What these procedures do is they soften your skin and open up the pores. This way they can easier exfoliate and the comedones are easier to remove. This is optional, though, and you can perfectly skip this step to get rid of whiteheads.
When you apply you chosen acne remedy, then you may want to moisturize your skin, as most whiteheads’ treatments tend to over dry the skin. You may also want to do something to shrink your pores. A good solution is to take a piece of ice, wrap it up in some cotton and apply it to your face. The cold will help your pores to close and tighten up. Following these simple hint, you may have better results in treating your whiteheads and making your skin smoother and healthier.
