Category Archives: How to Clear Skin

Blackheads on Nose Won’t Go Away? They Might Be Sebaceous Filaments!

August 15, 2017 LuminosityAcne

Do you constantly squeeze out blackheads from your nose, only to find that they return a few days later? Well you might be shocked but what you’re squeezing out of the pores on your nose aren’t actually blackheads! Read today’s blog post to find out what they are and if there’s anything you can do to prevent them from coming back!

When I decided I wanted to blog about acne, I knew that one of the most important topics I needed to cover was sebaceous filaments. Sebaceous filaments are constantly mistaken for blackheads because they appear to be so similar.

Here’s the thing about these filaments though…

They are not related to acne!

Everyone on earth has sebaceous filaments, even those that are not acne-prone. These lucky, pimple-less people usually have smaller pores than those of us who are acne-prone so their filaments are not as visible. BUT, if you were to squeeze the pores on their nose or any other areas where filaments are more concentrated, you would see that they also have them just like us acne prone people do.

So let’s talk about the differences between blackheads and sebaceous filaments.

Blackheads vs Sebaceous Filaments

A blackhead, also known as an open comedo, is a non-inflamed acne lesion that is mainly made up of dead skin cells and oil. Its dark appearance is a result of oxidation, similar to what takes place after an apple is sliced. A blackhead most times is slightly raised and feels a little bumpy if you brush your hand over it.

On the flip side, a sebaceous filament forms from an impaction of oil in the pore. Everyone on earth produces oil to some extent so that is why everyone on earth has sebaceous filaments. A blackhead goes a step further by combining an overabundance of dead skin cells with the oil. That’s because acne prone people create up to 5 layers of dead skin cells a day, whereas those that aren’t acne prone create a regular 1 layer of dead skin cells that easily sheds and doesn’t get clogged inside of the pore.

Sebaceous filaments are usually yellow or a lighter gray in color than a blackhead. And finally, sebaceous filaments are typically flush with the skin so if you brush your hand over your face, you generally would not feel them, unlike a blackhead. Now sometimes these filaments can poke out of the pore opening a bit, but usually they are level with the skin.

How to get rid of sebaceous filaments

Exfoliating products and treatments may minimize their appearance BUT you can’t get rid of them completely! No matter how many nose strips you use (which by the way I don’t recommend) or how thorough your esthetician is with extractions, these filaments always fill right back up. That’s because you are always producing oil so there is no way to prevent them from coming back. They are just a normal part of your skin.

What’s worse is that repeated pressure from picking at the same area of the skin can cause broken or dilated capillaries. Trust me on this one, I know from personal experience. That is why at our Luminosity Acne Skincare office, we do not extract sebaceous filaments for our clients. We don’t want to risk breaking their capillaries and these filaments just fill right back up so there is no point to extract them.

We do extract true blackheads though because once they are pushed out the skin, our products will prevent them from coming back.

So while exfoliating products and treatments can help to minimize the appearance of sebaceous filaments, the best thing to do is to make peace with them and know that everyone else has them too! Just recognize that they are meant to be on your skin! It’s also important to realize that most people do not even notice them on your skin! I’ve made peace with mine many years ago and they no longer bother me. I encourage you to put away the magnifying mirror and make peace with yours as well.

Inflamed Acne vs. Non-inflamed Acne: What is My Acne Type?

November 2, 2016 LuminosityAcne

Acne Types | Inflamed Acne Non Inflamed Acne | How to Clear Skin

Did you know that there are more than 1 types of acne?

And that your acne type determines which products you should be using to successfully clear up your skin?

As an acne specialist, the most important determining factor when it comes to selecting the right products for my clients is their acne type. This is the basis of my product recommendations. From there I look at severity, oil production, and skin sensitivity, but the foundation is always acne type.

3 Main Acne Types: Inflamed, Non-inflamed, & Combination Acne

There are 2 main acne types, Inflamed and Non-Inflamed. Side note: there is a third type known as Combination Acne which is exactly what it sounds like, a combination of both inflamed and non-inflamed acne, however most people will be dominantly either inflamed or non-inflamed.

Micro-comedones

Before I explain the 2 acne types, I first want to talk about micro-comedones. All lesions whether inflamed or non-inflamed start out as a micro-comedone.

A micro-comedone is the initial build up of dead skin cells and oil. This comedone is very tiny and starts underneath the skin. It is not visible until it grows into an inflamed or non-inflamed lesion.

Fun fact alert…comedo is Latin for “fat maggot.” You see, back in the day, scientists thought some of these acne lesions were maggots eating oil! Yeah, I know that’s not a pleasant picture.

As these micro-comedones grow in size by collecting more dead skin cells and oil, they will either become inflamed or non-inflamed.

The path they take is mostly pre-determined based on your genetics. What I mean by that is that some acne prone people are genetically pre-disposed to have a higher potential for bacterial build up and inflammation while others don’t.

Inflamed Acne

First let’s talk about inflamed acne because this is the most common acne type. An inflamed pimple starts out as a micro-comedone, which again is just the beginning mass of dead skin cells and oil inside the pore, at this point there is no inflammation.

But then it takes a turn for the worse as bacteria gets added into the mix. This bacteria is found in the skin and it feeds itself on oil. Once the oil is consumed, a waste by-product is created which is highly inflammatory to the skin so the end result is a red, painful and often times pus-filled pimple.

If you haven’t read my previous post on the real cause of acne, I highly recommend that you take a look at it so that you can have a better understanding on how acne forms inside of the pore.

Inflamed lesions also tend to hyperpigment the skin once they are healed. Hyerpigmentation from acne are those leftover dark marks that can be pink, red, purple, or brown.

Inflamed Acne Lesions

Inflamed acne consists of papules, pustules, cysts and nodules.

Papules are small, pus-less red bumps and often times are sore or tender.

Pustules typically start out as a papule and later become inflamed and pus-filled. This happens because the pore wall ruptures closer to the surface of the skin and leukocytes or white blood cells are rushed in to fight off bacteria that is present within the pore. The visible pus you see contains these white blood cells.

Cysts are large pus-filled lesions that appear boil-like. They can be extremely painful.

Nodules are hard, deep lumps that often times do not contain pus. They are very painful and extremely slow to heal.

Non-inflamed Acne

Non-inflamed acne starts out the exact same way that inflamed acne does, and that is as a micro-comedone. To review, a mico-comedone is the beginning mass of dead skin cells and oil.

Unlike inflamed acne, bacteria isn’t as much an issue to the pores of someone that is prone to non-inflamed acne so this micro-comedone continues on by accumulating mainly just dead skin cells and oil.

Because bacteria isn’t accumulating along with those dead skin cells and oil, that means that the potential for inflammation to occur is very low.

Now on a side note, if you were to improperly pick at non-inflamed lesions then you will most likely cause some unwanted pus and inflammation to occur which basically just means that you’ve now created inflamed acne.

While non-inflamed pimples don’t hyperpigment the skin on their own, if you picked at one more than likely you’ll be left with some hyperpigmentation from the inflammation that you caused.

Lesions of Non-inflamed Acne

Non-Inflamed acne is made of blackheads and closed comedones. These lesions are not red, inflamed nor painful. They just sit on the skin until they are properly extracted.

Blackheads are the most common type of non-inflamed acne and they are a mix of dead skin cells and oil. It is a huge misconception that the top of a blackhead is dark due to accumulation of dirt. What you are seeing is simply oxidized oil (and some melanin).

Think along the lines of what happens to an apple that is sliced and exposed to the air…it starts to oxidize and darken so the same thing is happening with a blackhead.

Closed Comedones are also a mix of dead skin cells and oil, similar to a blackhead, however the pore opening is completely blocked. This prevents oxygen from creating oxidization like with a blackhead, so closed comedones stay flesh colored.

If there was anything positive to say about closed comedones, it would be that the fact that because they are flesh colored that makes them harder to be noticed, especially when comparing them to red, pus-filled inflamed lesions.

Combination Acne

Those were the 2 main acne types, inflamed and non-inflamed. Now as I mentioned earlier there is a 3rd type which is known as combination acne and it’s exactly what it sounds like which is acne that presents both inflamed and non-inflamed lesions.

In my next post I will go over the proper way to treat and select the right products for each type of acne because each type requires a different approach.

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What is your acne type? If you are combination, then are you more dominantly inflamed or non-inflamed?
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Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work

September 26, 2016 LuminosityAcne

Drugstore Acne Products | How to Clear Skin Naturally | Acne Tips Tricks | Acne Treatment Raleigh NC

Have you used every drugstore or over the counter acne product and gotten little to no skin clearing results? If so, just know that you aren’t alone! In today’s blog post I’ll go over the most common reasons why drugstore acne products don’t work.

Before I dive into the 4 reasons why drugstore acne products don’t work, I want to first say that I understand that my opinion on this topic may come across as biased being that I am a licensed esthetician with my own brand of acne products, but the reasons I am about to present are legit!

Ok so now that that’s out of the way let’s get started with the reasons why these inexpensive drugstore acne products don’t work to clear up your acne.

Reason #1 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Pore Clogging Ingredients

Believe it or not, most of these products contain pore clogging ingredients despite the claims that they are making. A product may say that it’s non-comedogenic, oil-free or formulated for acne but none of those claims guarantee that the product is truly acne-safe because the FDA does not regulate these claims.

I put together a previous blog post that talks more in depth on pore clogging ingredients and how to check your current skincare products and makeup to make sure they don’t contain any pore cloggers.

Make sure not to miss it! Knowing if your products are breaking you out is so important!

Reason #2 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Outdated Salicylic Acid

Many of these drugstore products rely on outdated salicylic acid or glycolic acid, but the best alpha-hydroxy acid for acne is Mandelic Acid.

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Mandelic Acid does it all for acne…

It’s exfoliating so it prevents the pores from clogging
It’s anti-bacterial so it kills off the bacteria responsible for inflamed or cystic acne
It’s anti-inflammatory so it helps heal lesions quicker
It has hyperpigmentation lightening properties so it can lighten up those annoying leftover dark marks from past breakouts

Mandelic Acid is multi-functional and is indispensable when it comes to clearing up the skin.

Reason #3 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Using Benzoyl Peroxide Wrong

I know that most of you have tried benzoyl peroxide and it didn’t quite do the trick on clearing up your skin, but believe it or not, benzoyl peroxide is a very important and indispensable component in your skincare routine, along with Mandelic Acid.

There are several ways in which you are using benzoyl peroxide incorrectly. I recently wrote a blog post on it so make sure to read to find out all the ways that you are using it wrong.

Reason #4 Why Drugstore Acne Products Don’t Work: Not Strengthening Up The Routine

You can’t increase the strength of your drugstore products. Acne has an ability to adapt to the products you use on your skin. At our office, to stay ahead of this ability we periodically increase the strength or frequency of our clients’ acne products until they clear up. Once they are clear and there is no more acne under the skin then they can maintain the clear skin at this level of their product routine.

Now I do understand that you can increase the level of drugstore benzoyl peroxide so you can go from a 2.5% to a 5% and then to a 10%, but you can’t do that with salicylic acid, which is the most commonly found drugstore acid. Salicylic acid can only be purchased at a 2% strength when it’s over the counter so your skincare routine is stuck there and for your products to be effective against the acne you need both your benzoyl peroxide and hydroxyl-acid product to be increased periodically or else the acne will adapt and you’ll be back at square one. Also as mentioned earlier, salicylic acid isn’t ideal for acne anyways.

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