Every person has sebaceous filaments. If your body is overproducing oil or your skin is starting to loosen, your sebaceous filaments may look more noticeable. Sebaceous filaments are most apparent around your face (especially your nose, forehead, chin and cheeks).
The white stuff in your nose pores is sebum [13], which is natural oil that the skin produces in the dermal layer. Sebaceous glands attached to the pores on the skin naturally secrete this white and oily substance. Sebum should not be mistaken for acne pus, whiteheads or blackheads.
When pores fill up with oil, they become sebaceous filaments, the little yellow and gray dots you notice along your nose and cheeks. “Your skin produces oil (also known as sebum) in order to protect and moisturize itself.
Can You Get Rid of Sebaceous Filaments? Since sebaceous filaments are a normal part of your skin, you cannot get rid of them. While large sebaceous filaments can be professionally extracted, removing them is only temporary—they always come back.
If you were to squeeze a sebaceous filament, a white or yellow worm-like structure may ooze out. Or, the filament may not produce anything. Always take caution as trying to extract sebaceous filaments can injure the skin and cause permanent scarring. It can also damage and stretch the pore, making it appear bigger.
Squeezing nose pores may put your pore health at risk for irritation, redness, or damage to the pore itself. Instead, treat yourself to a pore-clearing face mask!
Damaging your skin by squeezing or picking can cause inflammation and discoloration. Squeezing introduces bacteria, oil, and dirt from your hands into your pores, which can lead to more blackheads.
A type of acne, sebum plugs happen when pores get clogged with sebum and dead skin cells. Sebum is oil your body produces to keep skin moist. Sebum plugs result from hormones and increased stress levels. Sebum plugs usually develop on the face, including the forehead, chin and nose.
Most derms consider retinol to be their go-to pore de-clogger, and it can also help with sebaceous filaments too. “Topical retinoid creams help push clogs to the surface, decrease oil production and tighten the appearance of pores,” says Dr. Susan Bard, an NYC-based, board-certified dermatologist.
Use Salicylic Acid
“Salicylic acid is your go-to ingredient if you have sebaceous filaments. It's a beta-hydroxy acid that helps remove excess oil and exfoliate dead skin cells from the skin to keep the pores clear,” says Dr.
While you may find some blackheads on your nose, chances are most of what you're seeing are sebaceous filaments, the tiny hairs that act as a “bridge” for oil to reach the surface of the skin. “They cannot be removed as they are part of the anatomy of skin on the nose,” explains Saddle Brook, NJ dermatologist Dr.
Although they won't get rid of sebaceous filaments — because nothing will — they can still help. “Pore strips are helpful in temporarily removing excess sebum and making the appearance of sebaceous filaments less prominent,” Dr. Marcus says.
Pores can become clogged with excess oil, dead skin, or dirt, or they can appear more prominent as a result of too much sun exposure. Other factors that can influence pores becoming clogged include genetics and hormones.
When you squeeze your nose or squeeze a pimple on your nose, there are white substances coming out of the pores, looking like thin strings. It's called the sebaceous filament, which is made up of sebum and dead skin cells that accumulate around hair follicles.
You're supposed to massage it well into the skin using circular motions until you feel oil grits – AKA sebaceous filaments – coming out. These are tiny, grain-like particles, whitish-brown in colour and they feel gritty to the touch, hence the name.
Get to squeezing: Understanding where a sebaceous filament lies within the pore is critical for proper extraction. They live inside pores, which is why the only way to extract them is to angle your hands and squeeze from the sides and bottom of the pore.
Sebaceous Filaments: How Can I Treat Them? Make a date with your dermatologist, who can prescribe a topical retinoid like Altreno or Arazlo, which helps speed up cell turnover with minimal irritation. (For similar results without an rX, Dr. Hartman recommends La Roche-Posay Effaclar Adapalene Gel .