Closed Comedones / Whiteheads

Closed comedone/whitehead is a skin problem that can come and haunt you anytime, all year round. It is one of the skin conditions that requires your long term and continuous effort. People who are not aware of the nature or causes of the whiteheads may choose to ignore it, eventually leading to more serious skin problems. What aesthetic treatments can effectively remove whiteheads to restore a smooth radiant face?

What is comedone?

Comedone is a trapped hair follicle, which has a raised bumpy touch. There are two common types of comedone: closed and open.

○ Open comedone: Also known as blackheads, has a open top, easy to remove by squeezing;

○ Closed comedone: Also known as whitehead. It has a closed top, therefore, the sebum in the hair follicle has not made contact with the air and has not been oxidised (Comedone with oxidised sebum will turn black and is referred as blackhead). Closed comedone can appear as a white bump or red bump under the skin. White bump indicates no sign of inflammation reaction while red bump indicates otherwise that could lead to acne formation.

In general, closed comedone is a mild form of acne which is also referred to as whitehead. Androgen hormone is a sex hormone that has a higher secretion level during puberty. A high secretion of androgen hormone will stimulate the sebaceous glands of the hair follicles to produce an excess amount of sebum. However, if the opening of the follicles is closed because of the keratinisation. The resulting sebum, shedding cells and bacteria in the follicles cannot move to the surface and eventually are trapped in the follicles. Therefore, it is called the closed comedone.

Causes

Whiteheads are usually caused by excessive production of sebum. The opening of the hair follicle is closed due to the keratinisation; therefore, the sebum cannot reach the surface of the skin and get trapped in the follicle, forming a bum under the skin without an opening on the top.

Some risk factors for closed comedone include:

1. Hormonal change

Some behaviours such as unhealthy sleep patterns, high fat and/or sugar consumption, and overworked lifestyle can cause hormonal change. The hormonal change can cause a water-oil imbalance of the skin. Also, the androgen hormone will increase, which will stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce excessive sebum.

2. Bad eating habits

Some diet preferences may increase the risk of greasy skin and formation of comedone. They include high sugar and/or fat consumption, milk intake, diet with lack of vitamins B and unhealthy diet. People who have prolonged issues with closed comedone are recommended to review their eating habits.

3. Poor skin cleansing routine

Over-washing or under-washing your skin are both bad for your skin and can cause closed comedone. Over-washing or using soap-based cleanser will leave you a “clean” feeling, but it actually causes the water-oil imbalance of your skin. Also, over-peeling, excessive usage of cotton pad or over-scrubbing will damage the delicate skin surface, which will stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum. More sebum production has a higher tendency of forming closed comedone. On the other hand, under washing your skin such as makeup leftover, makeup remover leftover, sebum left in the follicles, and accumulation of keratin in the follicles or on the skin surface are prone to block the follicles and result in closed comedone.

4. Psychological factors

Emotions can affect our hormonal level. Living daily under high stress, anxiety, irritability, anger, etc. will disturb the normal hormonal secretion which will develop skin problems.

Symptoms

Closed comedones can appear red, white, or black. The red one is an infected comedone. Black one is also called a blackhead that contains oxidised sebum. Whitehead is the most common closed comedone that looks like small white dots, spread on the face.

Closed comedones appear as a fresh-coloured or white bump, no larger than 2mm, and hardly noticeable from a distance. However, they have a bumpy feeling when you touch them. They do not cause redness, swelling, pain or itchiness on the skin. Under bright light in close distance, they are observable and make the skin surface look rough. Mainly found on the forehead, chin, cheek, around the lips and wing of the nose.

Possible developments without treatment:

1. Rupture and lead to inflamed acne (Acne)

2. Turn into an open comedone (Blackhead)

Affected people

It can happen to men and women. People with oily skin type are more likely to have a long-term issue with whiteheads.

Treatment

A. Mesotherapy

What is Mesotherapy:

Our skin is facing all kinds of damages everyday, like photodamage, pollution and the natural aging process. Mesotherapy can be a regular skin rejuvenation treatment that helps maintain our skin in a good condition in the long run. It is a non-surgical treatment that injects solution with various vital nutrients to our skin directly, which has a significantly higher absorption of nutrients than using skincare products. According to the skin condition, the injection content can also be tailored to meet one’s need for the maximum desired outcome.

How does it work:

Mesotherapy involves the injection of hyaluronic acid or/and multiple nutrients to the dermis. Dermis cells absorb the nutrients via osmotic absorption, which will activate cellular activity, promote the proliferation of collagen and elastic fibroblasts, resulting in smoothing depressed scars, improving pigmentation, deep hydrating and smoothing wrinkles. Leaving you a thoroughly improved skin texture, healthier skin condition and a perfect silky skin.

Procedure:

1. VISIA skin evaluation: Evaluate skin condition or existing skin problems with assistance of data analysis and picture analysis.

2. Face-to-face consultation: Tailored a suitable mesotherapy treatment plan based on client’s conditions and desired results.

3. Pre-treatment preparation: Apply anesthetics. Clean and disinfect the whole face.

4. Treatment: Administer injection solution by qualified practitioner. Repeat injection or scatter injection in severe areas.

5. Post-treatment care: Medical-grade facial repair mask and QDEL phototherapy mask to nourish and repair the skin.

5. Post-treatment precautions.

Duration: 60 mins

Who is it for:

• People who have large pores caused by dry skin;
• People who are looking for regular skin conditioning treatment to improve their irritated and rough skin;
• People who want to get rid of closed comedone and rejuvenate their skin;

B. Hydrafacial

What is Hydrafacial:

Hydrafacial is a skin cleansing device developed by an American skincare company, Hydrafacial. This FDA, CE and CSA approved device was designed to promote the health of skin and to restore skin barrier rapidly. It utilizes a patented 4-in-1 VORTEX two-way vacuum system in the addition of a serum solution to deeply clean the skin and restore a nutritious healthy skin. Hydrafacial treatment can fundamentally improve skin conditions (including blackheads, skin dryness, fine lines, sensitive skin, yellowish skin tone, large pores, acne and photoaging) in 30 mins without causing pain and downtime, helping to restore a healthy and strong skin.

How does it work:

Hydrafacial treatment combines the usage of an exclusive formula essence and the patented VORTEX two-way vacuum technology to exfoliate the skin, rapidly open up the pores, clear the congestion, non-invasively clear out blackheads, whiteheads, debris and dirt, gently remove old dead skin cells. While vacuuming and cleansing the skin, the essence that is made with nourishing ingredients will be absorbed into the skin, which can accelerate cellular metabolism, restore the skin’s oil-water balance, resulting in a cleaner and healthy skin. In only 30 mins, hydrafacial treatment will cleanse, extract, and hydrate your skin in 3 steps. According to your skin condition, location and desired results, a unique plan can be tailored for your need.

Procedure:

1. VISIA skin evaluation: Evaluate skin condition or existing skin problems with assistance of data analysis and picture analysis.

2. Face-to-face consultation: Tailored a suitable hydrafacial treatment plan based on client’s conditions and desired results.

3. Pre-treatment preparation: Remove makeup and cleanse the face.

4. Hydrafacial 3 steps: ①Cleanse+Peel ②Extract+ Exfoliate ③Nourish+Protect

5. Post-treatment care: QDEL phototherapy mask to nourish and repair the skin.

6. Post-treatment precautions.

Duration: 45-60 mins

Who is it for:

• People who have clogged pores or excessive accumulation of keratin in the pores;
• People with oily skin or combination oily skin who have long term problem with closed comedone;
• People who have an improper skin cleansing routine or have rough skin, and looking for a deep facial cleansing;
• People with imparied skin barrier and large pores;
• People who want to combine Hydrafacial treatment with other treatments to improve skin texture;

C. Acid Peel

What is acid peel:

Acid peel is a skin resurfacing procedure involving application of acidic solution on the skin. The acidic solution dissolves the oil particles among cells on the outermost layer of the epidermis and promotes the removal of the outermost layer. It stimulates the renewal of skin cells, promotes the replacement of elastic fibers in the dermis, and maintains the healthy state of the skin. It also helps with skin whitening, removing acne marks, reducing pores size and fine lines, removing blackheads, and curing acne and chloasma.

How does acid peel work:

Acid peel/AHA peel solution can loosen the physical attachment among stratum corneum cells by dissolving the oil particles between their cellular gaps, which will peel off the excessively accumulated keratin, unblock the clogged hair follicles and prevent the development of clogging opening at hair follicles. In addition, it stimulates the regeneration ability of epidermal cells and promotes dermal collagen fiber proliferation and its structural rearrangement, which will help to effectively improve skin texture (especially chicken skin), minimise large pores (by inhibiting oil secretion) and brighten skin tone.

Procedure:

1. VISIA examination: Access skin condition or existing skin problems with assistance of data analysis and picture analysis.

2. Face-to-face consultation: Provide suitable acid peel treatment plan based on client’s needs and goals.

3. Pre-treatment: Clean and disinfect the treatment areas.

4. Treatment: Apply an acidic solution on the face, waiting 1-5 mins.

5. End of treatment: Apply a neutraliser solution on face to terminate the acidic reaction and peeling reaction to avoid over peeling.

6. Cleaning. Post-treatment care.

Duration: 45-60 mins

Who is it for:

• People with large pores and accumulation of dead skin cells/keratin in their pores;
• People who have closed comedone problem for long time;
• People who oily skin or combination oily skin;
• People who want to rejuvenate their skin by acid peel;

Get rid of closed comedone/whitehead, come to Ai Beauty Clinic,

for safe and professional aesthetic treatments.

Ai Beauty Clinic is a CQC accredited clinic based in London, and also is strongly supported by Cynosure(the owner of Ulthreapy) and Cynosure (the owner of PicoSure).

With rich experience of treating clients of various conditions, led by a famous British medical chief trainer, practiced by doctors and nurses who are GMC/NMC-registered and worked in NHS national hospitals, Ai Beauty provides certified and safe medical beauty treatments.

Ai Beauty always puts safety first. Not only are all medical staff insured by independent medical policy, each client who comes to Ai Beauty Clinic is also insured by £5 millions medical insurance. This full insurance coverage allows clients to have a concern-free treatment experience.

Ai Beauty Clinic has served over 15,000 clients from all around the world, been covered by some famous media such as European Times and CW Television, and established trust and an excellent reputation among them.

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