The complaint usually goes something like this:
“I have blackheads ALL over my nose and they’re so gross. Every time I extract them (via squeezing, pore strips, or otherwise), they just fill right back up. So frustrated”
I used to think the same thing about my nose. I so hated the blackhead ridden crease of my nose, I distinctly remember one time in middle school thinking “I will just never let anyone look at the side of my face ever again”
All I can say to my former self is “good luck with that”.
But Then I Learned Something That Changed the Game
Well, I have some good or bad news depending on how you take this.
Those aren’t actually blackheads.
They’re called sebaceous filaments. They’re normal. They’re natural. They’re healthy. Everyone has them. And you can’t get rid of them.
What’s the Diff Between Blackheads and Sebaceous Filaments?
Sebaceous filaments are oil glands that supply your pores with oil. They are most noticeable on and around your nose; sometimes in the crease of your chin.
They look like tiny black dots and feel smooth and evenly spaced from one another.
Blackheads on the other hand are blocked pores, in which the top has oxidized and turned black. They are usually not evenly spaced, are larger, blacker, and feel bumpier.
Stop Stressing About Your Seb Fils
So as I said, if you weren’t aware of this you might take it one of two ways:
1. Stoked! No more pore strips!
2. Upset. That you’re stuck with these.
If you’re in the second camp, please reconsider. EVERYONE has them. They don’t make you look ugly and there is seriously no need to waste energy worrying about this.
I used to stress about them, but then I found out what they were… and believe me, I feel great now without all that unneeded worry!
That being said, some people do have larger ones than others, but I do implore – no matter what the size, when was the last time you noticed someone else’s sebaceous filaments?
Never?
Well, there you go. Please just step away from the mirror.
But I know some of you won’t and still may be wondering if there is any way to make them look smaller.
I don’t really know, but one woman in the Naturally Clear Skin Academy did say that once she stopped squeezing them, they went back to a smaller, less noticeable size.
Did you think your sebaceous filaments were blackheads? Do you feel relieved, or annoyed now that you know they aren’t? Any tips on making your seb filaments look smaller?
30 Responses
So based on that I actually have blackheads (huge/VERY dark black)
How do I get rid of those?? (Doing paleo for a year but the last 2 weeks I’m eating just meat+veg).
Use african black soap to wash and a toner with apple cider vinegar/witch hazel/essential oils. I was going to try NOT washing and just the toner thinking maybe my skin is too dry and thats why I have them ??? Blackheads on nose/around nose/travels up to my forehead.
By the way I don’t use moisturizer.. SPF breaks me out BAD (all kinds even zinc ones), and I’ve tried oil cleansing with grapeseed, almond, jojoba, and rosehip oils and it was all a disaster (all oils tried at different times). Jojoba I tried for a month and my skin got so much cystic acne (I normally get pustules) then 1000 clogged pores so oil is not for me
Hey Jo, if oil doesn’t work for you then don’t use it. Try using a gentle exfoliant that uses enzymes not mechanical action.. like a plain yogurt mask, every night or every other night after you wash, and then apply aloe if you want
They may not ever go away for good, but I always use baking soda (the cooking kind since the powder is less grainy) + water and rub my nose for a bit to make it feel smooth.
Awesome, thanks for the tip Justin 🙂
Hi Tracy,
I am 19 years old and found your website about 2 years ago because I was gaining interest in improving my skin with a better diet. I have mild acne and keratosis Pilaris on my arms, legs, face and a little on my stomach. After eating a lot better for months and not seeing any results I decided to go to a naturopath. She told me similar things I was already doing with my diet and also told me to take vitamin a and d. These things didn’t help so I stopped seeing her after she sounded like she didn’t have any more ideas. This was also around the same time my stomach started acting up mainly with loose stools.
After ending her visits, I continued to eat fairly healthy and taking fish oil and then fermented cod liver oil. Fed up with not seeing results months later I went to a new naturopath. She had me take a food sensitivity test that showed I was sensitive to tons of weird foods that I was eating often like fruits and veggies. I took out these foods and then added them in one at a time and no difference. I then did a stool sample that showed I had tons of inflammation in my gut and a parasite that was most likely causing it and my stomach problems. I took antibiotics for ten days to kill the parasite as suggested by the naturopath and was put on a anti-inflammatory diet. Today, a few weeks after the antibiotic it seems like my stomach is better but my skin problems are the same. I feel like no matter what I do nothing helps me.
Hey Naomi, I would suggest further working on your gut… make sure you are taking probiotics, and consider maybe L-glutamine to heal the lining of your gut, especially if you DO have food sensitivities. You might consider doing a three week candida cleanse as well. Also think about your overall lifestyle and where you might be lacking…. food for example is only one aspect of being healthy and having healthy skin. Do you maybe also need to work on your stress? sleep? exercise? etc
Yes I am currently taking probiotics and L-glutamine and have done a candida cleanse. I also used to have very bad anxiety but have been working on it a lot and have gotten much better.
I know this website is specifically here to help people treat acne but do you have any thoughts on treating or getting rid of Keratosis pilaris?
Hi Naomi
I too have Keratosis Pilaris. I used Organic Coconut oil for about 2 months on my arms everytime i step out of the shower and it has helped alot, but what seems to really do the trick is Vitamin A Plus Serum from MyChelle, its vegan friendly and a little expensive but just a little bit goes a long way.Moisturize and dont pick at it 🙂
Good luck!
Oh yes, sorry Naomi, I missed this question but yes… apparently Vitamin A for keratosis pilaris is the trick… I’ve never heard of using it externally, but yeah… try it internally and externally!
I have already tried Vitamin a and coconut oil and only the coconut oil slightly helped me. I have just always wondered if digestion and the overall health of the body would have anything to do with it or at least contribute to it. For example if the inflammation of my body would have anything to do with it.
Hi Naomi! From personal experience,I know that getting diet under control really helps with KP. I was diagnosed with celiac disease last March. After changing my diet,a lot of ailments I didn’t even realize I had, cleared up, including KP. Have you tried quercetin? It’s a bioflavonoid that helps with inflammation by making your body produce its own corticosteroids. I discovered it after a serve reaction to a skincare product, the first allergic reaction I was put on prednisone, that was an awful experience! Since I started taking the quercetin, I’ve had a significant reduction in inflammation and even my gut issues have improved. Hope this helps!
Im glad those things worked for you ! I have not tried or heard of quercetin but I will look into it. Thanks for the advice 🙂
i used to have sebaceous filaments like you, just some on and around my nose, but a couple years ago my face broke out in little bumps all over the place and when i finally got that under control i was left with sebaceous filaments everywhere. they dot my forehead and my cheeks, everywhere except my chin and jawline. why did this happen?
I used to have beautiful skin, i can’t believe i have to live like this. i feel horrible right now. i just wish i could have my old skin back. I’m 19 years old and the past few years of my life have been stressing over acne, but i was always hopeful because their was always something that promised a cure. But now im stuck with something nobody knows how to treat. I would take acne ANYDAY.
I wish i could rewind my life and save myself from the breakout knowing what i know now. 🙁
treating the break out could have caused an immune reaction. The result is more sebum (oil) is produced. There are a bunch of different things that can cause this to happen. —over cleansing,over rubbing, candida yeast infection, hormones, medication, and various types of drug abuse. what you want to do to get back to normal is try to cleanse your skin with 1. coconut oil =break down debris and yeast deep within the skin 2. grapefruit seed extract=kills yeast and tons of other great things I get my GSE from amazon Solaray brand dietary sup. Take it by mouth also like the bottle says. 3. lavender oil=regulate sebum production. mix together use enough to thinly cover face and other problem areas. wait 20 minutes and use baking soda with a little apple cider vinegar as a body scrub all over when you take a shower. make sure you take a long enough shower and that it is hot enough in there to sweat. When you first began to use the oil cleansing method it may seem like our skin is getting worse. But the oil pulls out debris from deep within the skin.
i hope i did not forget anything but i don’t like posting on these things but i struggled with horribly over active sebum glands for over a year and dermas could not even help. the treatment to make it stop is different for everyone. if this doesn’t work please email me at shabbybobo@gmail.com. this problem left me with scars and i never picked. i want to help u before this happens.
okay, I am going to send you an email! thanks so much!
Hey Tracy, Ive read your caveman regimen, I have a question for you, what about sunscreen? I heard that sun damages and ages your skin.
Hi Sarah, I personally just wear hats, don’t stay in direct sunlight for long periods of time, and if I do know that I’m going to be outside a lot all day, then I will wear natural sunscreen on my face and just not wash it off. But it’s definitely not an every day thing
Hey tracy,
I have seb fils on and around my nose, and I used to constantly stress over them, thinking they were blackheads. After reading one of your blogs and realizing what they were, I stopped picking at them so much and Ive noticed that they’ve gone down in size and are barely noticeable.
Ive read your blog posts on oils and how they can help treat acne, but I havent been seeing a difference. I used to have super oily skin, but after using jojoba oil for a few weeks, my face rarely gets oily, but its not dry either. That was the only difference I saw while using jojoba oil so I switched to argan oil, but Im still not seeing a difference. I dont think the oil is making me break out, but its also not helping. Does anybody know why the oil isnt working? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi Emily, that’s great to hear about the seb filaments 🙂 As for the oil, if you wash your face twice a day, try only washing it once instead.. skip washing it in the morning. This should further help to get your skin to stop overproducing oil, although it might appear to produce more in the beginning. You can use a natural oil blotting sheet like Tatcha if you want to help you get through it
Do u mean washing my face with water only once a day?
I mean just once a day with whatever you are using now, instead of twice
Hey Tracy,
I’m breaking out in the worst place possible: My butt. It’s in the fold actually where the butt goes over to thigh.
Maybe it’s because of the heat, or because of sweat there. When I come home I usually apply tea tree oil and wear light shorts. but I still get those inflamed pimples there.
Do you have any idea how I can get rid of them quickly? And reduce new ones? I thought about baby powder but I’m not sure -_- I need a quick remedy.
Hi Melina, hmm.. sorry I don’t know if I have any kind of quick solution for that in particular. I imagine it is due to the heat and sweat and friction in this area. Make sure your underwear is always breathable natural fabrics like cotton. And don’t pick at them either, leave them alone and they are less likely to come back
Ay I don’t know what to do anymore, acne for the past 15 years, been on antibiotics, contraceptives, watch my diet,various topical creams and so on and so forth, point is I’m beyond exhausted now emotionally and spiritually, and honestly I don’t like this question but why me? I mean I try by all means to be healthy but nothing seems to help. Currently busy with EFT and it hasn’t helped either, really thought I could count on it??? still doing it but like I said it all gets tiring I would also like a healthy clear skin pretty please, what am I doing wrong, so many people with bad habits but beautiful skin( I know I shouldn’t compare but….) ok bye let me go do EFT again Lord knows!!!?
Hi Khalipha, my heart goes out to you *big hugs*. Unfortunately I can’t just tell you exactly what it is, since I don’t know from this short post, but I encourage you to explore my website in depth… my articles, perhaps my book & acne programs…. see if maybe there is something you’ve been missing…. sending strength to get through this!
Hi Tracy,
I have a question but first let me explain a bit about my skin. I started having issues with blackheads on my nose about 1-2 years ago (I know they’re not sebaceous filaments because I used to be able to see those and they weren’t that noticeable at all. What I have now makes my nose look ugly and dirty 🙁 Icky blackheads) I’ve tried pretty much everything. Like, seriously everything. I have a bad memory so I can’t list all the stuff I’ve tried but here’s a few I can remember: clay masks, steaming, extracting with tool, nose strips, different scrubs, microderm abrasion apeel and lots more. I’m 20 now and am currently using beauticontrol oily/combination skincare set and the dry one because my nose is really oily but the rest of my skin gets really dry if I use skincare stuff meant for oily skin. It hasn’t really helped at all with my blackheads. I’m going to see if I can afford some jojoba oil and maybe hemp seed oil to try and see if it’ll help unplug my blackheads. I don’t have really bad acne, just a few pimples here and there, blackheads, and my skin is a bit uneven I think. I also have a couple scars from some really bad blemishes but I don’t think it’s that bad. Oh geez what was my question? Oh yeah! If the jojoba oil thing doesn’t work, what should I do? I’ve had so many people give me advice that hasn’t worked and I’m at the end of my rope. I honestly feel like crying and crawling into a hole and never coming out. I know my skin isn’t as bad as other peoples skin but I notice people staring at me weirdly because my skin looks dirty. I’m also going through a really hard time with a lot of mental issues, severe depression and really bad anxiety being a couple of them. I just, I don’t know… I already don’t feel confident in myself and my skin is making me feel even worse 🙁
Hi! I don’t have acne but I DO have big and visible sebaceous filaments in my pores all over my face (esp on nose). And also on my chest and shoulders and back. I have been on diet for maybe one year now without results. I don’t eat dairy and wheat at all. Or any processed food or unhealthy products. But I do eat like 5-6 eggs daily. I have put lots of money on my diet and I am determined to have clear skin, I have exercised and went to sauna and read books and articles but there is no solution for those SF.. I would pay 10 years of my life and 10 thousand dollars to get clear skin, I have big dreams but I can’t even begin to pursue them with my current skin problem.. Can you help me out? You really literally could save my life with only one response. King regards.
So sebaceous filaments are permanent but, can you stop them from producing that much oil… I never had dark ones until age 16… now they are really dark
and went from just my nose to almost all of my t zone.
I might start red light and see if it has an affect on them.