“Blackheads, by medical terminology, are called open comedones. A comedone is the pore, the opening in your skin, that connects your sebaceous, or oil-producing gland, your hair follicle, and little tiny muscles that help your pores open and close. When that pore gets stuffed with debris, dead skin, oil pollution from the environment, that becomes a blackhead. Sometimes people confuse those with whiteheads. What are whiteheads? That’s when the blackhead gets closed. It has a cap of skin on top of it, literally making it look white rather than black. Dermatologists distinguish between open comedones, or blackheads, and closed comedones, or whiteheads. The optimum treatment for these are topical retinoids. These are by prescription. They are related to vitamin A, and these can be given to you by your dermatologist.”
Reena Rupani, MD, is a board certified dermatologist at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients Monday-Thursday. She has written several publications, including two textbooks, on dermatology and has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed articles. She has a particular interest in both adult and pediatric medical and surgical dermatology, as well as cosmetic care, including Botox, chemical peels, injectable fillers, and laser therapies. Mount Sinai Doctors is an organization of clinical relationships and multi-specialty services that expand the Mount Sinai Health System’s footprint beyond the seven main hospital campuses into the greater New York City area.