What are these specks we speak of? It turns out, you may be dealing with sebaceous filaments. But don’t become too concerned, because everybody has them—some are just more noticeable than others. For the most part, sebaceous filaments live invisible lives, helping to flow sebum beneath the skin’s surface. It’s when you do notice some specks (usually a yellowish, off-white, or even gray color) that it becomes an issue: Ever pull your skin taut to find small, white pinpoints dotting the area? This means your pores have clogged up with too much sebum, dead skin, and bacteria. “These are annoying cosmetically,” says board-certified dermatologist Jeanine Downie, M.D., as you can’t really feel them beneath your fingers. They’re typically most visible along your T-zone, Downie mentions, as that’s where people tend to accrue the most oil. Sometimes vellus hairs can even become trapped within the pore, resulting in a condition called trichostasis spinulosa. (For what it’s worth: Both trichostasis spinulosa and sebaceous filaments are often confused for blackheads.) That’s because sebaceous filaments are more like a prerequisite to blackheads—they aren’t raised, which makes them way more difficult to express (not that you should ever extract them yourself, but sometimes finicky fingers do get the best of us). When the excess sebum mixes with dead skin and bacteria, that’s when the filaments can become inflamed—and that’s where blackheads come into play. Once those sebaceous filaments build up and up, they can quickly turn into acne. Then once it oxidizes, it’ll turn dark in color, and—poof!—you’ve just reached blackhead status. RELATED STORY: What Does Salicylic Acid Do? 5 Skin Care Benefits & Derm Tips And for what it’s worth, you might want to steer clear of at-home extraction tools as well. These high-tech machines sure are fancy, but they can be way too harsh on delicate facial skin and cause irritation or broken capillaries, sometimes even scarring.
