The human skin basically has two different follicles: a hair follicle and a sebaceous follicle. Both have sebaceous glands (which produce skin oil) attached to them. If a hair follicle grows a thick hair, the large hair will act as a wick to help bring oil and other debris to the surface of the skin. The sebaceous follicle, on the other hand, is without the thick hair, and that’s where your skin problems arise.
The sebaceous glands will produce oil regardless of whether you need it or not. There is likewise a small, microscopic hair that grows from the sebaceous follicle that is either not substantial enough in size to act as a wick or ends up getting trapped inside the follicle. When you combine these two factors, the skin oil, dead skin cells, and other debris build up within the follicle and have a difficult time getting to the surface.
This build up of debris will eventually lead to a microcomedone, which will decide to go down the non-inflammatory path of blackheads and whiteheads or the inflammatory path of papules, pustules, and cysts.
