If you have ever spoken to me, you probably know by now that I am really into analogies and there are two things I always compare the acne clearing process to: growing a seed in a garden and getting a six pack.  Since there are so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about acne, I have found that these comparisons make the acne clearing process easy to understand for people.

CLEARING ACNE IS LIKE TRYING TO GET A SIX PACK

I use the six pack analogy because it takes just as much time and work to get clear skin as it does to get a six pack and both processes require a multitargeted approach.  Both our skin and our bodies are affected by internal and external factors so they require a comprehensive approach that targets all of those different factors at once. For example, you can’t just get a six pack by doing cardio.  You have to do cardio AND strength training AND watch your diet AND pay attention to your lifestyle.  Well, you also cannot get clear skin by just using the right skin care products because acne is a multifactorial disease that is caused by Retention Hyperkeratosis and exacerbated by many other triggers.  So you also have to manage other factors like your diet, lifestyle, hormones, household products, and a bunch of other things that we go over in detail in my 8 Steps To Clear Skin e-course. 

THE ACNE PROCESS IS LIKE GROWING A SEED

In addition to being affected by multiple factors, acne also takes place in multiple stages which is why I use the other analogy of growing a seed.  Much like a flower, acne doesn’t just start and end as we see it.  It takes time for a flower to bloom and it has to first make its way through many stages: first, it starts as a seed then eventually sprouts into a bud then finally blooms into a flower that we see above ground.  Well, acne also takes a lot of time to make its way to the surface of our skin and develop into the pimples that we actually see and notice and it also starts as a little seed deep beneath the surface that we don’t see until later.

WHAT IS AN ACNE SEED?

The technical term for an acne seed is a microcomedone.  A microcomedone is a cluster of mostly dead skin cells that might be mixed with oil and comedogenic ingredients from pore-clogging products.  It’s called a micro-comedone because when it first forms, it is microscopic so it’s invisible to the naked eye.  And I call it a seed because it literally looks and feels like a sesame seed because it’s firm and white.  It’s also the seed from which all the different types of acne grow from.  This is basically the baby version of a pimple that gets planted beneath the surface of the skin.  As it matures, it also passes through different stages of growth: first as an open or closed comedone (blackhead or whitehead) then eventually a papule, pustule, cyst, and nodule which we go over in detail in our post about The Seven Different Types of Acne.  What is unique about our acne program is that we not only target the multi factors that contribute to acne but we target each of the multiple phases of acne.  We have acne programs available at our San Francisco acne clinic and worldwide through our virtual program.

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