wandering, wondering song

fromvictory:

If you have “blackheads” on your nose, you aren’t alone. However, they may not be the problem you think they are. The dots that many people mistake for blackheads are actually sebaceous filaments.

What Are Sebaceous Filaments?

Skin naturally produces sebum, an oily substance that prevents moisture loss from hair and skin. Without sufficient sebum, skin becomes dry and flaky; too much of it leads to an oily sheen and contributes to acne. Sebum and shed skin cells collect around hair follicles to produce tiny tubes called sebaceous filaments. They’re a natural and inevitable result of producing sebum. These filaments occur most often on or near the thin skin of the nose where sebaceous glands abound.

If you use a pore strip or squeeze the tip of your nose, you may see threadlike filaments emerge from follicles. Heredity determines follicle size and shape, so some people will have larger or more noticeable sebaceous filaments than others. Larger pores mean more prominent sebaceous filaments. As you age and your skin produces less sebum, you’ll see your sebaceous filaments diminish as well…

How Are Sebaceous Filaments Different from Blackheads?

The same process that creates sebaceous filaments also causes blackheads. However, there’s a major difference in degree. Sebaceous filaments occur in number and have a uniform appearance; blackheads erupt in isolation. Sebaceous filaments are tiny and look like pinpricks while blackheads look more like the aftereffects of a thumbtack or nail. Blackheads are darker than sebaceous filaments which typically appear only a few shades darker than surrounding skin.

Sebaceous filaments aren’t a product of troubled skin, but of the natural process of sebum production. If you have “blackheads” on or near your nose but have otherwise clear skin, you’re probably confusing a normal occurrence with a problematic condition.

Can I Get Rid of Sebaceous Filaments?

No amount of cleansing will stop sebaceous filaments from forming, nor will extraction via pore strips or squeezing keep them from coming back within days. Treating healthy skin with aggressive products designed to combat acne won’t remove those filaments; in fact, overly aggressive treatments could cause more problems than they solve. Focus on reducing the visibility of sebaceous filaments rather than their removal.

Sebum oxidizes when exposed to air; this is what puts the “black” in blackheads and makes sebaceous filaments darker than the surrounding skin. Only the tops of the filaments darken, so instead of trying to remove them and risking damage to your skin, lighten them with products containing benzoyl peroxide. Regular, but gentle cleansing also removes the uppermost dark layers of the filaments and makes them less noticeable. Remember, though, that over-zealous cleansing will only leave you with irritated skin. A puffy, angry nose is a lot more obvious than a few tiny dots.

source

huh.

Things that tumblr makes evident:

• I have BAFTA feels
• I have Avengers feels

Things that tumblr does not make evident:

• I have best-kind-of-day-with-best-kind-of-people feels
• I have holy-shit-what-is-my-life-doing-THIS-time feels

MY LIFE, IT DOES STRANGE THINGS, AND I LIKE THEM SOMETIMES

read also: I have an amazing photoshoot booked, and maybe a boy(???!?!), and so many people to see this week, and the best damn friends in the world who made both days of this weekend worth experiencing.

i-am-sherloki-d:

ok guys i know you’re upset about benedict and all but can we please take a moment to appreciate matt smith’s socks

　

yes

(via naturalshocks)

Aaaaaand with Avengers, I am once again back on the “wtf is everyone a slash fangirl I seriously don’t get it there is zero basis for this” boat.

No rly, guys. There are bromances all around. That is all I see.