Whiteheads form when a pore gets sealed shut by a layer of skin, trapping oil and dead cells underneath. Unlike blackheads, which stay open to the air, whiteheads are closed off, creating that small, flesh-colored or white bump just beneath the surface. If you’re suddenly seeing more of them, something has shifted in how much oil your skin is producing, how quickly dead skin cells are building up, or both.
How a Whitehead Actually Forms
Every pore on your skin contains a tiny oil gland. These glands produce sebum, an oily substance that keeps skin moisturized. Under normal conditions, sebum flows up through the pore and spreads across the skin’s surface. A whitehead develops when that process gets disrupted.
It starts with dead skin cells. Your skin constantly sheds old cells to make room for new ones, but sometimes those cells don’t shed properly. Instead, they clump together and stick to the walls of the pore. At the same time, if your oil glands are producing more sebum than usual, the combination of excess oil and sticky dead cells creates a plug. Because the surface of the pore stays closed over (unlike a blackhead, where it stays open), the trapped mixture forms a small, sealed bump: a closed comedone, or whitehead.
Hormones Are the Most Common Driver
The oil glands in your skin are highly sensitive to hormones called androgens. When androgen levels rise, or when your oil glands happen to be more reactive to normal androgen levels, sebum production ramps up. This is why whiteheads are so common during puberty, but it also explains breakouts during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and perimenopause.
Androgens don’t just increase oil production. They also appear to trigger excess buildup of dead skin cells inside the pore itself, making it easier for that plug to form. So hormones are essentially working on both sides of the problem at once: more oil and more cellular debris.
Insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) also play a role. High insulin levels stimulate sebum production, which is one reason diet can influence breakouts. Growth hormone and the stress hormone ACTH, which drives androgen production from the adrenal glands, can contribute too. If you notice whiteheads flaring during stressful periods, that adrenal connection is likely part of the reason.
What You Eat Can Make a Difference
Foods that spike your blood sugar appear to worsen acne, including whiteheads. A systematic review of the research found that diets high on the glycemic index (white bread, sugary drinks, processed snacks) were consistently associated with more breakouts and greater severity. In controlled trials, people who switched to a low-glycemic diet saw significantly better results: one study found a 71% reduction in acne lesions over 10 weeks on a lower-sugar diet compared to a control group. Another trial showed that a low-glycemic group had roughly double the improvement in total lesion count compared to those eating a higher-glycemic diet.
The connection makes biological sense. High-glycemic foods trigger insulin spikes, and elevated insulin directly increases sebum production. Dairy is a more complicated picture. Some large studies found that drinking more than three servings of milk per week was associated with nearly 80% higher odds of moderate-to-severe acne. Skim milk showed a stronger association than whole milk in certain populations. But other research has found no clear link, and at least one study found frequent milk consumption was actually associated with less severe acne. The takeaway: if you suspect dairy is a trigger for you, cutting back for a few weeks is a reasonable experiment, but it’s not a universal cause.
Your Skincare Products Might Be Clogging Pores
Some ingredients in moisturizers, sunscreens, and hair products are known to block pores. If you’ve recently switched products and noticed new whiteheads, the culprit may be on your bathroom shelf. Common pore-clogging ingredients include coconut oil, lanolin alcohol, algae extract, and various synthetic esters like isopropyl isostearate. These show up in everything from foundations to leave-in conditioners.
Hair products deserve special attention. If your whiteheads cluster along your hairline, forehead, or temples, styling products, oils, or conditioners may be migrating onto your skin. Switching to non-comedogenic (non-pore-clogging) formulas and keeping hair products off your face can make a noticeable difference within a few weeks.
Could It Be Something Else?
Not every small bump is a whitehead. Fungal folliculitis (sometimes called “fungal acne”) looks similar but behaves differently. It’s caused by an overgrowth of yeast in the hair follicles rather than clogged oil. The key distinction is itching: fungal folliculitis tends to be persistently itchy, while regular whiteheads generally are not. Fungal breakouts also tend to appear in uniform clusters of small bumps, often on the chest, back, or forehead.
If your bumps itch, don’t respond to typical acne treatments, or appeared after a course of antibiotics (which can disrupt the skin’s microbial balance), a dermatologist can examine a skin sample under a microscope or use a special UV light to check for yeast. The treatments for fungal folliculitis and regular whiteheads are completely different, so getting the right diagnosis matters.
How Whiteheads Are Treated
Topical treatments for whiteheads work by either speeding up skin cell turnover (so dead cells don’t accumulate in pores), reducing oil production, or both. The most effective over-the-counter options target the clogging process directly.
Salicylic acid is oil-soluble, which means it can penetrate into the pore and help dissolve the plug from the inside. You’ll typically see initial improvement around 4 to 6 weeks, with full results closer to 8 to 12 weeks. Benzoyl peroxide works on a similar timeline and also kills bacteria that can worsen breakouts. Retinoids, which are vitamin A derivatives, are considered the gold standard for comedonal acne (the type dominated by whiteheads and blackheads). They regulate how skin cells grow and shed, preventing the buildup that leads to plugs in the first place. Retinoids take longer to show results, often 8 to 12 weeks for early improvement, and up to 12 months for full clearing.
The most important thing to know about any of these treatments is that they require patience. Dermatologists recommend sticking with a new regimen for at least 8 to 12 weeks before judging whether it’s working. Switching products every few days or weeks resets the clock and can actually irritate your skin into producing more oil.
Everyday Habits That Help or Hurt
Touching your face transfers oil and bacteria from your hands to your pores. Phone screens pressed against your cheek do the same. Pillowcases collect sebum, dead skin, and product residue night after night, so changing them frequently (every few days, if possible) reduces one source of pore-clogging buildup.
Over-washing is a common mistake. Stripping your skin of all oil with harsh cleansers signals your oil glands to produce even more sebum to compensate. A gentle, non-comedogenic cleanser used twice a day is enough for most people. If you exercise or sweat heavily, rinsing soon afterward prevents sweat and oil from sitting in your pores.
Picking or squeezing whiteheads pushes the contents deeper into the pore, which can turn a minor clog into a larger, inflamed breakout. If you want a whitehead extracted, a dermatologist or trained esthetician can do it with sterile tools and far less risk of scarring.