If we all stay calm, this post won’t turn into an extensive list of lies that Pinterest perpetuates. But really, plaits are never going to dry into Victoria Secret Curls, those ten foods won’t give you a flat stomach in ten days, and those dark dots on your nose aren’t blackheads, JEEZE.

Ok, let’s get composed, not grumble about sebaceous filaments, and talk about why this matters. One, something that’s a really normal part of having skin is being treated as if it’s a condition, which is gross. Two, you can’t improve something about your skin if you’re using treatments that aren’t meant for it.

So – those sebaceous filaments I mentioned! These are the darkened pores that get mislabelled as blackheads, poked at like blackheads, and squeezed like blackheads, but they’re not blackheads.

How To Tell The Difference Between Blackheads & Sebaceous Filaments

• Blackheads usually ride solo. You might have a few, but they will be scattered. Sebaceous filaments usually populate an area quite densely, and that area is usually the nose. You’ll have lots, right beside each other.
• If you squeeze an area of sebaceous filaments, stalks of nearly white gloop pop out. If you apply pressure to a blackhead, yellowish gloop with a black cap pops out.
• Blackheads are black dots at the centre of raised mounds. Sebaceous filaments are darkish pores, and the surrounding skin is flat.

Beyond that, the main difference lies in how you treat them. Blackheads are symptomatic of very oily skin or acne. If you get them often, and they bother you, your best bet would be visiting a dermatologist to chat about getting your skin to calm down. If that’s out of the question, talk to your chemist or a facialist. Whatever steps you take to reduce their occurrence, you’re always going to have to get them extracted from your face. That means a pro will apply pressure until your face pops like fine champagne.

The same does not go for sebaceous filaments. You can squeeze them all you want, but it will just damage your skin, and the pores will fill back up. It’s like crap Whack-a-mole. All you can really do is cleanse well, and maybe use an acid, assuming you’re not like 15. That will lessen their appearance, if they are more obvious than you’d like them to be.

The reason there’s no easy fix is that sebaceous filaments are normal. Everyone has them. If you think yours are worse, it’s probably because you see yours from two inches away, in a magnifying mirror, and you see everyone else’s from two feet away, under their foundation. You can think what you like about them, but I promise, nobody gives a hoot about yours.

Oh. And don’t put a DIY Pinterest face mask on either, obviously.