The second most common skin concern that I hear after acne is from people wanting to get rid of the blackheads on their nose. Blackheads are a form of non-inflamed acne as I described in my post The Seven Different Types of Acne and although those dark colored dots on your nose look similar, they are actually sebaceous filaments.

What are sebaceous filaments?
Unlike blackheads which are mostly a combination of dead skin cells, oil, and maybe some comedogenic ingredients, sebaceous filaments are oil plugs that are created by the pore's natural sebum flow.  Our pore size is determined by how much sebum is flowing so the more oil, the larger the pore appears and the areas where oil glands tend to be most active are on our nose and our chin which is why these areas are where sebaceous filaments tend to be most prominent.

How do I tell the difference between a blackhead and a sebaceous filament?
Color: Blackheads tend to be a darker black color than sebaceous filaments which tend to be a lighter gray or flesh-color.

Pattern: Blackheads, like all other acne lesions, usually appear randomly and in no uniform pattern. Sebaceous filaments, on the other hand, tend to appear in perfectly even rows because they follow the pattern of our oil glands which are evenly distributed structures in our skin.

Texture: Blackheads usually have a slightly raised border but sebaceous filaments are generally smooth and flush with the skin.

What NOT to do with sebaceous filaments
DO NOT attempt to squeeze them out with your fingers or any other dirty tool in your bathroom because you risk turning it into an actual pimple and damaging the surrounding skin. Haven’t you ever squeezed them and turned your nose red and peely after?  Also, even if you squeeze it out, it will ALWAYS come back as we mention below.

How do I get rid of them?
Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to get rid of sebaceous filaments permanently and any product that claims to do so is a LIE. There are pore strips and products that may help get rid of them temporarily and squeezing them is also a temporary solution but sebaceous filaments will fill back up in a matter of days because there is no way to shut the oil glands off. Everyone has pores that release sebum onto the surface of the skin and as much as we hate it, it plays a very important function in keeping our skin moisturized and protected.

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