Seborrhea versus Acne

Thank you to Paula Begoun for distinguishing between seborrhea and acne!  This is very informative!  You can read the whole article here.

From Paula…..

Seborrhea is a skin disease of the sebaceous (oil) glands marked by an increased secretion of sebum (oil) or a thickened sebum discharge. It can resemble acne and blackheads. One of the differences between acne and seborrhea is that in seborrhea the increased oil production is often accompanied by a scaly, thickened skin, especially on the scalp, and the oil itself can have a strange, viscous texture. However, in seborrhea—and sometimes in acne—the sebum (a firm, wax-like substance in the pore that liquefies into oil on the surface of the skin) in the sebaceous gland accumulates, causing the gland to become swollen and filled to the brim. When this overproduced sebum is covered over by skin, it forms a small, firm mound called a whitehead. When the sebum is exposed to air (not covered by skin) and the duct fills with dead skin cells, the sebum turns dark from oxidation and the blemish becomes a blackhead. The size of the eruption, the texture of the oil, and the flaky skin are what differentiate seborrhea from acne.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 6:40 pm and is filed under Acne, Paula Begoun, Seborrhea. The entry is tagged under You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.