Is it Acne or Closed Comedones?

Bumpy skin is a very common issue affecting people of all ages. While there are many different causes of this texture, such as acne and milia, two are particularly often confused with one another and are hard to distinguish, even for some professionals.

Fungal acne is caused by yeast overgrowth and tends to appear as tiny, slightly coloured, itchy bumps found clustered together in certain areas of the face. It can be treated by using oral and/or topical antifungal medications.

On the other hand, closed comedones, also known as “CCs”, develop due to sebum and dead skin cell build-up. Simply said, they’re whiteheads deep in your skin. They pop up as skin coloured or slightly white, spread out, non-itchy bumps often accompanied by pimples and blackheads.

=> Open Comedones are when the comedone is open to the outer side of the skin. These are commonly known as blackheads. Just as CCs can move out, they can sink deeper into the skin, causing inflammation, which develops into an early form of a pimple.

To treat CCs, one can use gentle exfoliants (focus on not over-exfoliation) with low concentrations of BHAs or AHAs (see ingredients). Additionally, retinoids (see ingredients) can be used to prevent CCs in the first place.

To summarise, use this chart as guidance.

Type	Fungal Acne	Closed Comedones
Causes	Yeast (fungus) overgrowth	Sebum and dead skin cell build-up
Features	Tiny, slightly coloured, itchy bumps found clustered together in certain areas of the face	Skin coloured or slightly white, spread out, non-itchy bumps often accompanied by pimples and blackheads
Treatments	Oral or topical antifungal medications	Low concentration exfoliants and retinoids