Acne vulgaris, often known as acne, is a skin condition that occurs when your pores become clogged with oil and dead skin cells. Blackheads, blemishes, whiteheads, pimples, and zits are various names for the same thing. A moderate kind of acne is when you only have a few red patches or pimples. Hundreds of pimples can cover the face, neck, chest, and back in severe acne. It might also be larger, firm, red lumps that hurt (cysts).

Anyone who has AKs should see a dermatologist. Squamous cell carcinoma, a kind of skin cancer that can be lethal, can grow from AKs, which are the initial stage in the development of skin cancer. Anyone who gets AKs has sun-damaged skin to some degree. This increases one's risk of developing other types of skin cancer, such as melanoma. Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer because it spreads quickly to the lymph system and internal organs.