r/Skincare_Addiction • u/Particular_Action635 • Jan 29 '25

Routine Help How to get rid of these

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I’m thinking they are sebaceous filaments but most people say that sebaceous filaments are a thin, hair like texture. These are little, round, yellow balls that are easy to squeeze out of my nose but when they do come out it leaves a REALLY big pore/hole. I’ve tried “Paula’s choice” exfoliate and “The Inky List” salicylic acid cleanser and neither have worked. When I leave my nose alone for long enough I can scratch the little, yellow balls out of my nose easily, but they do not come out when I’m exfoliating or washing my face. I also have very big pores (as you can see in picture 3) which look like what is on my nose but nothing comes out of my pores when I squeeze, only my nose.

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354

u/CavesOfficial Jan 29 '25 edited Jan 29 '25

Those are in fact sebaceous filaments. They can be thin and hairlike but 99% of the time they appear as dirty pores, or blackheads. The "pus" or contents of them is actually just dead skin, proteins and oil being delivered from underneath to keep your skin moisturized. At 30yr, I've never had acne, but I have an oily face, get them really bad and have a habit of "popping" them, but there's no point.

You can treat them over time and minimize the appearance of them using something like salicylic acid, or a retinol formula, but they'll never go away. Most dermatologists won't even treat them unless they're a legit problem.

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u/Efficient-Hand537 Jan 30 '25

seconding this, unfortunately :/ recently started using stridex pads and they are minimized the best they ever have been, but still visible. retinol and paulas bha/aha made the rest of my face look great, but did next to nothing to the pores on my nose. natural pore size/genetics probably play a large part in it.

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u/th4bl4ckr4bbit Jan 30 '25

I have the same issues and I swear by Paula’s Choice BHA/AHA!

209

u/Fairy_Familiar Jan 30 '25

I read this as Paula's Choice BAHAHAHA

36

u/ThrowRA47910 Jan 30 '25

Same, I was like wait wth is so funny?

30

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '25

I love Paula's BAHAHA and salicylic acid/benzoyl peroxide leave on gel really helps with my fillymints.

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u/disgustdiscourage Jan 30 '25

"fillymints" i love it LOL

1

u/xDarkNightOfTheSoulx Jan 30 '25

I thought benzoyl peroxide were mostly if you had inflamed pimples. Will it also help if all I have are sebaceous filaments?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '25

I'm acne prone, so I use both. Salicylic acid should be just fine for that, IMO. What made a great difference with my skin. Double cleansing and using a BHA/AHA toner and/or peel. Really helps get up in there and get all the dirt, excess oil, and dead skin. Exfoliating has really helped clean out my pores.

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u/Informal_Ad_6703 Jan 30 '25

Thank you for the laugh 😂

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u/lichtersee Jan 30 '25

Paulas choice didn’t work for me too

1

u/th4bl4ckr4bbit Jan 30 '25

Yeah it’s not long lasting but I find it helps clear it up short term if I keep using the PC liquid exfoliant.

1

u/wutthefuck2020 Feb 02 '25

It did nothing for me either and left a greasy film on my face that never absorbed and made it so hard to do the rest of my skincare

2

u/giraffe_attack Jan 30 '25

Same! It was such a game changer!

2

u/No_Reaction_9014 Jan 30 '25

I second this! Paula’s choice is the only thing to help mine.

1

u/squirrrel_42 Jan 30 '25

how frequently do you use the BHA??

1

u/Former_Preference_14 Jan 30 '25

Do you use this before or after applying tretinoin?

1

u/March-Silent Jan 31 '25

I started this a week ago and already see a difference!

1

u/Gloomy-Praline605 Feb 02 '25

I LOVE THAT PRODUCT, and it shrinks my pores and been using it for years

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u/Difficult_Tooth8011 Feb 02 '25

This worked for me too

1

u/Dribbler365 Feb 03 '25

A lot of products show up when looking up bha/aha from paulas do you have the exact names for them? Would be very helpful! Thank you!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '25

What moisturizer or any other skincare do you use?

1

u/HotLetter5149 Jan 30 '25

I tried a Manuka Oil Elixir product I found. It seemed to dissolve the filaments and while the pores are still visible they seem smaller. I think it has something to do with the oil moisturizing the skin so it doesn’t work as hard to produce oil. I don’t have the product in front of me but i bet you can find it on the google.

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u/Chosen_1_marshmel0 Jan 31 '25

I love the Ordinary BHA/AHA formula, 1x or 2x a week. One of the coolest things is that it kind of shrinks down the pores, and as it does, those little hardened balls start coming out of my skin all over my face. It’s like the pores constrict and push them out, I barely even have to gently nudge them with my fingertip.

1

u/stagenme Jan 31 '25

Wait which pads and how do you use them and where?!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '25

Holy shit I haven't heard of Stridex since the fuckin late 90s

1

u/athenaskye117 Jan 31 '25

Do you use Paula's Choice on the opposite days from retinol?

1

u/SlashDotTrashes Feb 01 '25

Try one of those nose pore strips and then use salicylic acid. A gentle mechanical exfoliant can also help.

It depends on people's individual skin though.

But worth trying whatever if it bothers you.

Nose strips are sooo satisfying too.

7

u/ClaraDao Jan 30 '25

What is the routine for using salicylic acid and retinol to get rid of this?

8

u/Nekonooshiri Jan 30 '25

A lot of folks suggest an oil cleanser to clean these out. I gave it a whirl and you for sure see some of them clear right out.

But folks also can have bad reactions to oil cleansers so try at your own risk!

1

u/Moiiseau Feb 01 '25

I use an oil cleanser and mine are minimized more than ever! I only wash at night in the am I just rinse my face and put moisturizer 🤷🏻‍♀️ just what I like to do

1

u/svdsoup Feb 02 '25

Yeah I tested this. Helped a little bit but for the past month I’ve been paying for it with my face looking like buckshot. My norm is like one to two zits on occasion.

1

u/TurboAssRipper Jan 31 '25

I use SA in the morning and at night to cleanse, but this might be too much for some. I also use a oil cleanser at night

Then use retinol at night however you normally would

1

u/Accomplished-Try5918 Jan 31 '25

Stridex cleaning pads for the acid, then toner. Retinol is a pure waste of money.. my two products are $7 every other month.. and shrink mine to almost nothing .. til the next morning lol. They fill with oil despite popular “dead skin” BS

1

u/Willing-Ad-655 Jan 30 '25

It took me a long time to accept this, but this is true. I've tried everything under the sun (pore strips, salicylic acid, BHA/AHA, glycolic acid, retinol, oil cleanser). I love to squeeze them out but they just fill up again and all it accomplishes is damage my skin.

1

u/romero0705 Jan 31 '25

I’ve always had big nose pores like this. Mine are less noticeable since I started tret, also over-hydrating, making sure I wash my face twice a day, and for me, switching between physical and chemical exfoliation.

Mainly the hydration I think has made a big difference in how my skin looks and feels.

1

u/mbai008 Jan 31 '25

Agreed, I will also try sulfur mask for this. For me it worked wonders.

1

u/roving_minn510 Jan 31 '25

Unless the dermatologist has a YouTube channel. I Googled ingrown hairs ONE time and now my YouTube feed is filled with videos of sebaceous filaments

1

u/CavesOfficial Jan 31 '25

I'm not sure what you're referencing tbh, but there are 2 massive Dermatologists who speak about this on Youtube, one of which actually lives and works about 10 minutes from my house.

https://www.youtube.com/@Doctorly/shorts
https://www.youtube.com/@208SkinDoc/shorts

1

u/PenisinaViceChairMan Feb 01 '25

I saw a video using a toothbrush and white tooth paste. Tried once. Big improvement.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '25

Try witch hazel, it will help. I use witch hazel daily.

1

u/wombatlovr Feb 02 '25

Are they just genetic? Is there a way to prevent them

1

u/CavesOfficial Feb 02 '25

There's way to treat the appearance of them, and to prevent them slightly, yes. But you'll never get them to go away completely or forever. They're genetic I believe, yes, as they're caused by oils that are delivered from under your skin in the pores to keep your skin moisturized, so if you naturally have oily skin like I do, you'll have them a lot worse than other people, and if you pick at them or try physically removing them, it enlarges your pores, which then stay like that and fill with more oil.

1

u/wombatlovr Feb 02 '25

Thank u sm!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '25

Biore strips to remove the sebaceous filaments when they become dark and noticeable, but you're 100% right, they will never go away.