Sebaceous Filaments 101: Sebaceous Filaments vs Blackheads, How to Remove Sebaceous Filaments
Have you ever looked at your nose close up and seen small white clogs covering your nose? I have had and sometimes it’s so bad, my nose can remind me of a strawberry.
Those white or yellow clogs are actually something called SEBACEOUS FILAMENTS and not blackheads, which is what they are mistaken for a lot of the time. Sebaceous filaments are one of the ~main characters~ of my skincare concerns. Unfortunately there is no way we can permanently remove sebaceous filaments – they will always come back but there ARE steps that we can take to minimize their appearance.
What are Sebaceous Filaments and how are they different than blackheads?
Sebaceous filaments are sometimes mistaken for blackheads, but they are different than blackheads.
Sebaceous Filaments are a buildup of sebum and dead skin cells around a hair follicle and are usually sandy or light grey in color. These filaments help sebum (or oil) flow from your sebaceous glands to your skin to keep your skin moisturized. So they serve an important function for your skin and shouldn’t be completely removed. But we can minimize the appearance of them so we don’t all have strawberry noses.
Blackheads form when the opening of a hair follicle in your skin get clogged with dead skin cells and sebum. If there is skin over this clog, it is called a whitehead. But if there isn’t skin over this clog, the clog is exposed to air which can turn it into a black color, hence the name blackheads.
Should I extract my sebaceous filaments or use Pore strips?
I used to use nose strips when I was younger because it was SO satisfying to see all the gunk on the strip after you pull it off. But I highly recommend that you skip the pore strips, because they can damage and injure your skin, causing broken blood vessels that can only go away with laser.
If you take a close look at my nose, you will notice a red dot (broken blood vesssels) on my nose which resulted from me doing way too much to my nose in my early 20s. And the only way to remove broken blood vessels are through laser treatments – which can be costly. I’m currently in the process of getting IPL to remove this red dot, which has been annoying, so please be careful with pore strips and extractions on your skin because you don’t want to do permanent damage.
Weekly treatment to minimize Sebaceous Filaments: Fiddysnails Pore Cleansing Routine
To keep my sebaceous filaments at bay, I use Fiddysnail’s Pore Cleansing Routine at least once a week for a non abrasive way to minimize my SFs. Sometimes I can even feel the little ‘grits’ coming out of my nose, which is actually SO much more satisfying than using a pore strip.
For this method, you will need a clay BHA mask and an oil cleanser.
Step One: So first I like to use a SA mask – my favorite one is The Ordinary’s 2% Salicylic Acid mask. SA penetrates deep within your pores to loosen up all those deep impurities and gunk so we can get it out in the next step. Apply and leave on your nose for 10 minutes.
Step Two: Then use a cleansing oil, I like the Hada Labo Gokujyun Cleansing Oil, and apply a thin layer on your nose. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Then you can massage your nose for 1-2 minutes and you should feel tiny little grits coming out of your nose. Do NOT massage for more than 2 minutes and do NOT massage too hard or this can lead to broken capillaries like this red dot I have on my nose that only go away with laser treatment. If you don’t feel anything come out, your sebaceous filaments should still look minimized and you can try repeating these steps again a few days or a week layer.
We actually had Jude detail out an updated Pore Cleansing Routine by skin type over at The Glowie Blog, so if you’d like product recommendations for your skin type from the creator of this method, check out her blog post!
Ingredients to incorporate into your skincare routine to minimize sebaceous filaments
SO the last step of my two pronged approach to minimize SFs is to incorporate ingredients in my skincare routine that will help get rid of excess sebum and dead skin cells which is what causes SFs.
BHA
If you are a beginner who has not tried BHA before but curious about it – I recommend starting off with a BHA cleanser. Using a cleanser is gentle and low risk way to get your skin acclimated to BHA since with cleansers, it’s a skincare product that is on your skin for a few minutes max because it gets rinsed off. Start off by using a BHA cleanser once a week and increase as your skin can tolerate it.
Some great BHA cleansers that I like are:
Inkey List BHA Cleanser
Cosrx Daily Gentle Salicylic Acid Cleanser
Once your skin is used to a BHA cleanser, you can level up to a BHA leave on treatment, like a toner or a serum. This is going to give more potent effects since it’s a product that will be left on your skin over time. Again, try using a BHA toner starting from 1x/week and increase as your skin can tolerate it
0.5% Salicylic Acid
Snail Mucin & Aloe to help soothe skin
Free of artificial fragrance and cruelty free
4% Betaine Salicylate, another type of BHA that is gentler than SA.
Willow Bark Water – A natural exfoliant that doesn’t irritate
Alcohol, paraben and cruelty free. Vegan.
2% SA
Currently using this toner up to 5x a week during the day
Retinol/Retinoids
There’s a lot to say about retinols and retinoids so if anyone wants me to dive deeper, leave a comment I can make another video and blog post on this topic. But one of the many benefits of using a retinol is that it can minimize SFs because retinol tightens pores, decreases oil production, and brings clogs to the surface.
Usually retinoids are stronger than retinols, so if you are a beginner, I’d start with a gentle OTC (over the counter) retinol or Differin (OTC retinoid) first, see how your skin tolerates it, and then increase usage.
Personally, I really like using Differin and Tretinoin to help minimize my SFs. Differin is an over the counter retinoid you can get at any drugstore. Tretinoin is a prescription retinoid, but you can now get it through brands like Curology and Apostrophe.
Any tips to share?
Let me know if you end up using any of these tips and if there’s anything specific you do to minimize your sebaceous filaments!
