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Wed Apr 11, 2007 4:58 pm  |
| I get a problem where I get plugs of sebum on my nose. It's not clogged pores, but just plugged pores where sebum is, like dried sebum. What would be the best way to extract them? Often, aspirin doesn't seem to be 100% effective, is there a better form of extraction? |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:28 pm |
| My first choice would be to use a beta hydroxy acid (BHA). |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:47 pm |
In this case, I use Kose White Mask.
It is definitely work. 
But I don't do so often. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:49 pm |
| What is the difference between clogged and plugged? |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:33 pm |
| alibabka wrote: |
| What is the difference between clogged and plugged? |
When it is clogged, there is a bump in the skin as it gets trapped in the pore. When it's a plugged pore, the sebum is visible, and open, you can pick it out (like a rice field, people picking them out of the dirt) lol 
But it's too much trouble and can cause scaring =) |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:33 pm |
| SusieQ wrote: |
| My first choice would be to use a beta hydroxy acid (BHA). |
Susie, do you believe that if I continuously apply jojoba oil, it will help to loosen up pores so that upon washing it would come out easier? What are your thoughts on that? |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:42 pm |
| Have you tried OCM method? |
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Blond, blue eyes.Skin: Normal, sometimes oily, during winter very dry. Very sensitive. Occasional breakouts. Very fair. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:46 pm |
| Lara1 wrote: |
| Have you tried OCM method? |
I agree, this should clean them out. I have dry skin and it works for me. I have heard tho that it really helps those with oil skin. It's probably one of the cheapest things to try. |
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The best way to locate your cat is to open a can of food. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:47 pm |
| Lara1 wrote: |
| Have you tried OCM method? |
Oh no do tell me! I'm really curious, I don't know what it is though. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:59 pm |
| xxndnromeoxx wrote: |
Oh no do tell me! I'm really curious, I don't know what it is though. |
It is oil cleansing method.
You can find information here:
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=7077&highlight=ocm
There are many posts about OCM on this forum. You can find more information if you use search. |
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Blond, blue eyes.Skin: Normal, sometimes oily, during winter very dry. Very sensitive. Occasional breakouts. Very fair. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:06 pm |
That is such a brilliant idea, thank you so much! I am going to incorporate that into my regimen somehow. I appreciate it so much. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:35 pm |
You are very welcome! Just be careful with the method. When I first started to use it my skin visibly cleared from plugged/clogged pores and then, after a few days of using it my skin broke out, so I had to stop for some time. I thought it was bad for my skin. After my skin calm down I tried it again, because it really helped to clean out my pores. I geuss the key is in the moderate use of this method, percentage of oils (castor oil specifically) and also, my skin had to get use to the OCM. I don't use it every day as many people do.
Good luck
Lara |
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Blond, blue eyes.Skin: Normal, sometimes oily, during winter very dry. Very sensitive. Occasional breakouts. Very fair. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:06 pm |
I use OCM and i have the same problem with pores ie plugged, if i scrape my fingernail over them, some of them come out but mostly they're half hanging out and wont budge!
So for me, oil cleansing hasnt helped. BHA products loosen the blackheads but like i said the darn things are left hanging out Sometimes i use pore strips on my nose and that pulls out the gunk but im a bit worried about using them on other trouble spots.  |
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39, in Australia, using retin a, Skin actives I Bright and Antiaging Cream, change sunscreen regularly currently. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:11 pm |
| Lara1 wrote: |
You are very welcome! Just be careful with the method. When I first started to use it my skin visibly cleared from plugged/clogged pores and then, after a few days of using it my skin broke out, so I had to stop for some time. I thought it was bad for my skin. After my skin calm down I tried it again, because it really helped to clean out my pores. I geuss the key is in the moderate use of this method, percentage of oils (castor oil specifically) and also, my skin had to get use to the OCM. I don't use it every day as many people do.
Good luck
Lara |
What I will do is just use jojoba oil, as it by itself is really good and can't clog pores. Plus I remembered that it used to do that in the past well  (clear our pores well). And then steam right after. It may be a variation, and may not work as well, but I have a feeling it should and not be as bad as castor oil. I hope it works. Take care! |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:12 pm |
| carolb69 wrote: |
I use OCM and i have the same problem with pores ie plugged, if i scrape my fingernail over them, some of them come out but mostly they're half hanging out and wont budge!
So for me, oil cleansing hasnt helped. BHA products loosen the blackheads but like i said the darn things are left hanging out Sometimes i use pore strips on my nose and that pulls out the gunk but im a bit worried about using them on other trouble spots. |
pore strips are so bad, it unplugs them, but then leaves a huge gap, literally a hole in your pores from the missing sebum plugs, and then it fills back in. I like this oil cleansing idea! |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:29 pm |
Reading your post, I don't think you have clogged pores.
First, clogged pores and plugged pores are the same thing. The only difference is the English word used to describe them.
Examples of clogged/plugged pores are microcomedones, whiteheads and blackheads. I don't think you have these.
I think you've just got enlarged pores and can clearly see the sebum inside. I don't believe the sebum is overly dry or stuck, otherwise you'd have other problems. Don't expect sebum to be too viscous, it's carrying a lot of dead skin cells from within the pore.
Even if you "washed out" your pores, the sebum would fill it right back up again, you'd see the sebum again, and you wouldn't have made any progress.
Really, I think what you're looking for is to decrease the size of the enlarged pores. The problem is, much of what I have read says this isn't possible. Which is disheartening, I know. I believe some people here have posted they have had success using acids. However, I don't know if they've just gotten rid of blackheads and so the enlarged pore isn't as noticeable without a dark center, or they have actually managed to decrease pore size. |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:07 pm |
RMB: you are right in all of your reasoning but I don't agree completely. I have the exact problem described on my nose. I've had these since I started puberty. They've gotten better through regular exfoliation both manual and chemical but I still do manual extractions occasionally (I had to do them more regularly before). My pores don't get filled as much as they used to anymore, they're just mainly empty pores right now. I rarely get zits on my nose though, the pore is definitely clogged with sebum/dead cells, whatever is in there but it is open and visible. They also come out easily if you do it manually. The only answer (the best one anyways) is to use a BHA product to keep the pore clean. But this does not happen to everyone with enlarged pores. I've seen a lot of people with enlarge pores that DO NOT fill up with sebum or dirt or whatever no matter how polluted the environment they live in is or how little they exfoliate. This problem is like acne, you have it or you don't. So I can't say necessarily that they fill up just because they are enlarged and visible. I have some pores on my nose that are not visible or enlarged and yet they fill up regardless of how often you extract. Not to mention the cause of my enlarged pores were due to these plugs rather than the other way around. Basically they came out and the pores never shrunk back to it's invisible size 
Now in terms of solutions masks/OCM have not worked for me. You'd assume that ingredients that draw out impurities would help but these plugs are not like blackheads, they are ingrained into your pores and they are larger (think rice or half a piece of rice) so you DO need some pressure to draw them out. That is why honestly all you can do is manually extract them and try to keep them as clean as possible through another product like BHA or whatever works for you (like OCM as others recommend). But OCM/BHA/scrubs will NOT get them OUT, it will only make them easier to extract.
HTH |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:30 pm |
Whoo. This clogged versus plugged description is making my head spin.
I'm still not exactly certain what the OP is describing, but here's my 2 cents:
I can get a very rough, bumpy feeling nose easily. I assume my pores are clogged. They look darker, but they are not actually blackheads. My way of maintaining this problem, as recommended by my facialist, is simply using a scrub on my nose 2-3 times a week. I also generally do a nose strip about once every 2 weeks. This keeps my nose smooth and shiny, and the pores on my nose squeaky clean.
But I don't think that is what you are describing, since you specifically mention that bumpy is clogged, and you are plugged...... |
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25 | US South | Fair | Very dry b/w brows, normal elsewhere skin | Forever in search of undereye bleach and pore eradictor! |
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Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:56 pm |
| I almost forgot to mention, since you're a guy, xxndnromeoxx, my brother used to have the exact same problem on his nose (I guess it runs in my family). He also had a very bad acne problem which he used quite a few doc. prescribed antibiotics. He never used any other skincare products apart from that. I gave him a Biore nose strip once and MANY Of those plugs came out so you could give it a try. My brother stopped using them because he didn't like the feel of them on his nose. Well after a while his acne cleared up and never came back and the plugs on his nose lessened too. His pores are still enlarged though but you can tell some are just empty pores. So I think your problem is pretty much hormonal and comes with being acne-prone. I hope this may give you more insight to your problem. |
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Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:09 am |
Hi sormuimui, enlarged pores come from blackheads dilating the pore opening. Blackheads first, enlarged pores second, I never meant it any other way. I was just saying that if you still have a blackhead sitting in the pore it opened up, it makes that pore more obvious. So when people say how their pores are smaller after using acids, they might just mean they got rid of the blackhead.
I think most of our enlarged pores come from adolescent bouts with blackheads. Back then we had a lot of sebum production. If someone's sebum production has decreased a lot since that time, their enlarged pores would look empty. I think the OP's sebaceous glands are still producing quite a bit of sebum, and so his enlarged pores are filled.
What I was saying is that I didn't think the sebum filling his pore was a problem. He's either going to have a pincushion nose with empty pores. Or he'll have grayish looking sebum in those pores. The size of the pores is the same in either case (they've already been stretched open), it's just do you want the center to be a dark hole (but not as black as a blackhead) or a gray hole.
But in your post you're saying that maybe that sebum is a problem. And that's why you extract it. You know, you may be right. I just don't know. If you're saying that the "rice sebum" is a problem b/c it looks bad, then I don't really agree with you. Like I said above, I don't think an empty hole looks good either, and the hole size is the same, so I don't see a problem with rice sebum there.
If you're saying that the "rice sebum" is a problem b/c it may lead to inflammatory acne, then I agree with you, and we need to get rid of the rice sebum. I had rice sebum in my early twenties. A friend made me try pore strips and I know what you mean. Like rice with little filaments attached. Nowadays though, I have far less sebum production and mostly empty pores.
The thing is, other than the experience with the pore strip, I couldn't be bothered to manually extract my rice sebum. However, the rice sebum didn't lead to any inflammatory acne. And now in my mid-twenties I don't have the rice sebum anymore.
Recap: Empty enlarged pores and rice sebum filled enlarged pores are both ugly. I don't see rice sebum as a problem from this standpoint.
If rice sebum can lead to inflammatory acne then it is a problem, and I would change my position and advise the OP to remove his rice sebum. Can anyone chime in and post if their rice sebum (not whiteheads and blackheads) has led to inflammatory acne? Thanks for making me think more about this sormuimui. |
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Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:52 am |
Oh, I didn't mean that it's a problem because it looks bad, but because you cannot shrink your pore size with it clogged. I know you cannot shrink it anyways but my pores are smaller than they were with the sebum stuck in it. At least when it is extracted and empty can it be refined through other products that firm/tighten pores. Usually if they occur on the nose they don't get inflamed and become acne all that easily from personal experience. But if you have these on cheeks or side of nose they are more likely to become acne. But in a sense they do look bad (yeah, an empty pore itself looks bad too) but when people see you, they notice the dirt in your pores right away. I find empty pores are less noticeable/striking. Not to mention everytime I saw my brother I had the urge to extract his nose...
I guess I misunderstood you then RMB, we're pretty much on the same page on this issue |
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