Most of us have noticed on our face, especially on the nose and chin, the so-called "blackheads". Most likely, in an attempt to get rid of them, the majority "crushed" them with their hands or subjected them to aggressive scrubbing.
However, as "Rambler" found out, with the notorious black dots, from which many suffer throughout their lives, it is not so simple. So, we often confuse black dots with greasy threads. And this is a completely different problem, and it is necessary to deal with it in a different way.
How to distinguish
Take a look at your face. The dark "heads" protruding from the pores can be blackheads or comedones / blackheads. This is a type of skin disease, manifested in the fact that the pores are clogged with dead skin, dirt and dust, and the top is clogged with sebum. Comedones are most often dark, stand out above the skin and are easily squeezed out in the form of a cork.
Social media / comedones (blackheads)
This happens due to the fact that the skin produces too much sebum, due to various reasons: improper nutrition, insufficient or, conversely, excessive cleansing, as well as due to the use of comedogenic cosmetics.
This problem is solved by mechanical or ultrasonic cleaning, the very "squeezing".
However, many people confuse blackheads with sebaceous threads, which are simply a feature of the skin and not a skin condition. Sebaceous filaments are not squeezed out like a cork, but, on the contrary, when squeezed out, look like a thread or a thin tube of sebum with a dark tip. The tip, which is located on the surface of the skin, darkens due to the fact that it oxidizes under the influence of oxygen.
Social media / greasy threads
It is important to know that sebaceous threads are a completely normal feature of the skin, but they cannot be squeezed out, unlike blackheads.
What to do about it
Sebaceous threads should not be squeezed, because they are a protective mechanism of the skin, and if they are squeezed out, the body will begin to produce even more sebum. At the same time, they are squeezed out much more difficult than black dots, and while you squeeze your skin with all your strength, you wash it to injure it: leave redness, scarring or even bring in bacteria.
Cosmetologists note that sebaceous threads should be accepted as a feature of their own skin and admit the only way to "fight" them - to lighten or "dissolve" them. The very oxidized tip of the sebaceous threads can be made with oil or beta-hydroxy acids (BHA). Salicylic acid dissolves sebum, and there will be a minimum of sebum on the surface of the face and in the pores. Then the "caps" of the sebaceous threads will become less dark and noticeable.
In addition, regular gentle exfoliation of dead cells along with hydration and the use of products with oil-absorbing properties, such as clay or charcoal masks, helps.
