Acne is confusing. No matter how much you learn, or think you already know, about it - it’s always helpful for a little refresher, so we are taking you back to the blemish basics.

Pimples, zits, spots, outbreaks – let’s be honest, it’s all acne. Acne is a chronic (on-going or recurring) inflammatory disease of the skin that occurs when hair follicles and pores under the skin become clogged with excess sebum and dead skin cells. 

Wait… PORES? What do they have to do with it? 

Well, everything actually. When the hair follicles and pores under your skin become clogged, it forms a “plug” that leads to comedones. Comedones are those skin-coloured, small bumps that form when a pore gets clogged.

Billons of bacteria live on our skin as part of our skin microbiome. Most of them are good and contribute to a healthy skin but some are known to create havoc. One of the bad ones that is undisputedly known to cause or aggravate acne symptoms are Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) bacteria. ​Bombi contains our proprietary active ingredient: Bombilysin, an antimicrobial peptide that is engineered in a way that it can only kill the unwanted C. acnes bacteria while leaving the good ones intact which is essential to keep your skin microbiome balanced.

To maintain overall homeostasis, the skin microbiome’s beneficial bacteria have to overpower pathogenic bacteria. When the pathogenic bacteria win out, it influences the skin’s surface and contributes to dermatological conditions such as acne, rosacea, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis.

This is where Bombi steps in!

There are only a few areas of the body that don’t grow hair (mainly the soles of feet and palms of hands). Everywhere else, where there is hair, there is oil. Every hair follicle is accompanied by sebaceous (oil) glands. Their job is to produce sebum (oil) to lubricate and protect (waterproof) your hair and skin - the reason your soles and palms get wrinkly in the bath is that they have no oil to stop the water soaking into the skin.

Sebaceous glands are hugely sensitive to sex steroid hormone levels in the blood. Androgen hormones such as testosterone increase the production of sebum whilst estrogens can inhibit it. Although testosterone is often called a male sex hormone, it is important to understand that women also have testosterone, just normally not as much. 

Together, the follicle and sebaceous gland are called a pilosebaceous unit (“pilo” from the Latin for hair and “sebaceous” from the Latin for tallow). Skin cells called keratinocytes line the inside of the pilosebaceous unit and produce a tough protective protein called keratin (which makes up the majority of hair, skin and nails).

Acne is caused when there are problems with this structure:

• Too much (or perhaps too thick) oil production

• Mixed with keratinocytes and or keratin, blocks the narrow opening of the pore

Comedonal acne is a non-inflammatory acne without pus that usually develops on the forehead and chin. The thick porridge like mixture of oil and dead cells that can plug a pore is called a black or whitehead. The only difference is whether the plug is open to the air or not – if covered by a thin sheet of cells, the oxygen in the air cannot get to the plug and so it stays white or creamy colored (hence the name whitehead). If there is no covering and the plug is open to the air, it is oxidized and turns black (hence the name blackhead).

Inflammatory acne is more severe and occurs deeper within the skin than non-inflamed acne, causing pain, redness, swelling, and discomfort. Once a pilosebaceous unit has been blocked by a black or whitehead, the sebum cannot drain. However, the sebum is still produced causing an increase in pressure in the structure. Eventually, this pressure becomes painful and causes inflammation (redness and more pain). This papule often appears as a raised painful red spot.

If the pressure and inflammation is not relieved, bacteria gather and feed on the oily soup creating infection with pus production as the body fights it. It is at this stage that squeezing a spot can be irresistible!

This type of acne is most likely to leave dark spots and scarring. The most common forms of inflamed acne include:

• Papules: red bumps that do not have white centers
• Pustules: similar to papules but have white or yellow pus centers
• Nodules: swollen, painful lumps deep within the skin have no visible pus in their centers
• Cysts: like nodules, cysts form deep within the skin and have no white centers, but they are redder than nodules

Anyone who has gone through puberty! Sebaceous glands are present but not particularly active until puberty when a surge of sex hormones trigger many different processes initiating puberty. Although acne is most common at this time of life, it can present in later life also. The idea that acne is a disease of the teenage years is not true and comes as a shock to those who suffer with it in their 30’s or 40’s.

Acne is multifactorial – there are many elements that contribute to it from genetics to lifestyle and diet. However, by far the most important approach to control of the disease is achieving control of the production of sebum.

The goal of an acne treatment is to minimize future breakouts and help prevent scarring and emotional distress. But first and foremost, the most important step to acne care is keeping your skin cleansed and balanced.

If you are struggling with mild-to-medium acne: you may benefit from using over-the-counter (OTC) daily acne treatments like our Bombi 3-step routine.

If you have a more severe acne type or are just unsure, we always suggest you talk with a doctor or dermatologist to see what plan works best for you. 

The goal of an acne treatment is to minimize future breakouts and help prevent scarring and emotional distress. But first and foremost, the most important step to acne care is keeping your skin cleansed and balanced. 

If you are struggling with mild-to-medium acne: you may benefit from using over-the-counter (OTC) daily acne treatments like our Bombi 3-step routine.

If you have a more severe acne type or are just unsure, we always suggest you talk with a doctor or dermatologist to see what plan works best for you.