First I want to point out that many people have blackheads on their nose. Anyone that claims they don’t may just not get close enough in the mirror to see them. Those of us with acne prone skin have this habit of studying our skin ridiculously close to the mirror, so of course we’re going to find all possible minor imperfections on our skin.
So next time you have the chance to get close enough to your friends and families skin without looking too creepy, take a look at their nose. I can guarantee you that a lot of them will have a nose full of grayish-black dots.
The reason why you didn’t see them on your friends noses before was because blackheads are so small and too hard to see unless you look really close. So please keep in mind that your nose blackheads are like that too, very small and most likely only noticeable by you!
It’s also important to note that those dots on your nose aren’t always technically blackheads. A blackhead is a blocked pore filled with dead skin cells and oil that’s oxidized and turned black on contact with air. Sometimes the dots on your nose are just enlarged pores filled with a bit of oil, not blackheads. This is why they can be a lighter grayish color than the usual darker blackheads.
Why do I get so many blackheads on my nose?
The reason why you get this annoying problem on your nose is because that area is smack bang in the middle of the t-zone, which is the oiliest part of your face. Our t-zone is oilier because oil glands are more concentrated in this area. And more oil glands means more oil.
And these pores generally get a little larger and a little oilier with age. Kind of like how they say your nose and ears are the two parts of your body that never stop growing. I guess this is just another one of those annoying things beyond our control.
I want to get rid of the blackheads, how do I do that?
Unfortunately there’s no easy permanent solution, because as soon as you clear the oil and blackheads out, you’re left with an empty open pore that can easily fill back in again. So if you want to permanently keep your nose looking clean and clear, you’ll need to continuously maintain your skin in that area.
In the past I’ve tried natural exfoliation methods like organic scrubs, using clay masks and adding baking-soda to my cleanser, but none have made any difference to my nose blackheads.
The only thing that has worked is unfortunately not a natural solution, and I feel like I’m sounding like a broken record here mentioning this product - because the only thing that’s worked for me is salicylic acid. And in particular Paula’s Choice 2% BHA. Salicylic acid is a deep pore exfoliant which encourages pores to soften and push the gunk out to the surface which is why it works.
I’m not sure if other salicylic acid products will work as well, but I’d love to hear from you if you’ve tried one and it does.
But I will stress again, while the BHA will help to clear out the pores on your nose, it is not a permanent solution. You will need to continue to use the BHA regularly. Maybe not every day, but every other day at least. This comes with its problems too. Your skin can get too used to the BHA and start to rely on it. Honestly, it’s worth considering how bad your blackheads on your nose really are, and if you want to muck around with the natural balance of your skin by indefinitely applying a salicylic acid product like this.
I have written a review on Paul’s Choice BHA that is worth reading if you haven’t already. I explain in detail why you don’t want to rely on a salicylic acid product like this for an indefinite amount of time.
What about pore strips?
Pore strips are okay. I’ve heard mixed reviews about them. Some experts say they’re bad because they can damage and tear the skin. Others say you’re just unnaturally pulling the clogged stuff out without changing the structure of the pore at all so it just fills back up with oil and dead skin cells again.
However, there are some actual users of pore strips who swear by them.
The real cure is from the inside out
If you have a lot of blackheads then usually it’s a sign of a congested liver, so the best and most permanent way to clear your blackheads is to combine the salicylic acid product with a liver flush or liver cleansing diet.
However, a liver flush isn’t going to make your blackheads disappear over night so before you jump into an intense liver flush, you want to be sure you’re doing it for the right reasons, and you want to be armed with enough research and advice. Also please realize that while a clean liver can make your skin look amazing, sometimes it takes several liver cleanses to achieve it.
I’m sorry I haven’t been able to provide an easy miracle solution, but I wanted to provide an article that told the truth without giving any false hopes. But, you can improve the appearance of the blackheads and clogged pores on your nose quite easily by using a salicylic acid product. And by working more on the health of your insides, the quality of your skin isn’t the only thing that will improve. You will also be working towards a healthier and happier life 
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
24 responses ↓
hi fran, this doesnt really have anything to do with this post, i just have a question….i have been using green clay (which i love) and i was wondering if it helps with encouraging pimples to go away or if it just prevents them from coming?
Hi Jessa, have a look at this article - http://www.highonhealth.org/hot-tip-clay-mud-mask-and-cucumber-for-treating-acne/
Clays help to keep your pores clean by removing toxins from the skin.
And this video I did shows how you can use clay masks to spot treat your pimples to help them go away - http://www.highonhealth.org/how-to-use-clay-masks-to-spot-treat-pimples/
thanks for the information on spot treatments, i’ll have to try it, but i think i want to get some white clay first. i have skin similar to yours, very fair and sensitive to the sun, and lots of little freckles and i have red hair like you too! except i normally have very oily skin…but thanks to this wonderful website, i have learned soooooo much about the connection between food and skin. thanks
hey another great topical to get rid of blackheads is Walgreens 8% AHA. it got rid of most of my blackheads in a week.
hey fran
Oh thats fantastic im looking forward to it because i must have seen like all your videos about 100 times haha. how come you travel around so much lol. I have family that live in toronto. Also how was your visit to london, i live there, but i dont think its that polluted, did u go on the london eye. And also i got this gel from the doctor its called duc once daily it has 1% clindamycin and 5% benzoyl peroxide should i use it or not ? I just got quinoderm that has 10% Bp which should i use? Write back thanks
can you recommend some liver cleansing diets?
phy- Unfortunately no, I haven’t done one. But it’s not something that you want to take lightly so I recommend you visit a naturopath or nutritionist for advise.
i have another question totally not relating to this post, but here it goes…whenever you have those pimples that are underneath the skin (the ones that hurt really bad & sometimes last forever) and then they finally stop aching, where does the bacteria and puss go since it never comes to the surface? does it stay in your skin or go somewhere else?
I find that scrubbing my nose (fairly roughly but not too) with a toothbrush, and sometimes baking soda, keeps those blackheads down or nonexistant.
Hey Fran,
This might sound crazy but I actually use liquid glue to get rid of my nose blackheads. I use Elmer’s non toxic glue and just apply some on the area and then when it dries clear I rip it off. This gets rid of the blackheads without leaving those ugly holes. It’s pretty much like pore strips but it’s a trick that I’m sure you have lying around your home somewhere.
BTW: I’m not sure if this works for everyone but it
does for me!!!
[...] How To Clear Nose Blackheads [...]
[...] How To Clear Nose Blackheads [...]
hi fran, i was curious as to whether there are any natural and free solutions to removing blackheads and those pit things?
i’ve had a couple around 4-6 on the tip of my nose for about a year now, they started to appear right at the time of my exams in school (15 then, 16 now) and i can not get them to go away. any advice, help, tips would be good.
Unfortunately I haven’t found anything yet that can remove them that’s natural. The best way really is prevention! So working on keeping your body healthy from the inside out.
Fran, can you recommend a good liver cleanse? I generally do one monthly cleanse per year, but this time I’d like to do the liver cleanse. Do you have a brand you recommend? Do you take the liver cleanse in pill form?
Hi Jasmine, I’ll talk more about my liver cleanse after I’ve actually done it. I don’t feel quite qulified just yet to recommend until I’ve personally tried it.
YES! A very natural way! I wrote about it somewhere…..
Dissolve 2-3 pills of aspirin ( the regular BAYER pills with no coating or anything- the ones that some people just take dayly) in a few drops of rose water (or whatever pure water).
Spread the sand-like mix over your face and mainly on the areas where you see fine black pores.Leave for 10-15 min, then lightly massage and allow the aspirin to exfoliate your skin.OK…..there’s only one thing I dont like about this mask- the ” sand” gets dry and flakey too fast, so it’s hard to work with and that’s why the original way to do it is to add some honey-just a little drop.
What I like to do is leaving it for 10 min and THEN adding honey with my fingers so I can rub everything easily.
Aspirin is just a name for Salicylic Acid- it’s not a chemical,you can take it every day and it’s actually good for your BP and heart.Now, note that it wont burn your skin or anything…..I personally felt absolutely nothing.
It works GREAT!Make sure you apply some lotion after washing the mask off.
Another NATURAL WAY of dealing with the dirty little pores is the Oil cleansing method which REALLY surprised me-it always leaves my nose and other areas free of the annoying black thingies..LOL.You can read about it online but shortly- you steam your face( without burning it,OK!!!!!!),you massage the proper oil on your face and neck for 5 -10 min, paying attention to the problem areas.when done you take a wet hot towel and gently absorb all the oil-repeat the step with the towel about 4 times to get rid of all the oil.When you finish you’ll be surprised to see how soft ,fresh,glowing and CLEAN your face is- without using any soap!You can also rub some ice for just a few secs or spray with thermal water,so your pores shrink.
Now,I DO have some Biore nose strips and this was my only way for years but since I started using these two methods I really dont need the strips anymore and they’ve been sitting in my drawer for 3-4 months now.
Ok so what do you think of the elmers glue meathod? I’m not sure if I should try it or not. I was watching ellen today and someone said that it worked. Would it do any damage? One of your other comments said that it didn’t leave his/her pores open. What do you think?
HI Maggie, This method is just the same as using pore strips which I’m not that fond of. They CAN pull some of the gunk out but it leaves a hole which is likely to just fill up with oil again. And it’s a little rough on the skin.
Hi Fran, I have had a tendency to clogged pores and blackheads since I was a teenager although have never actually had any bad acne. Nevertheless since I moved to australia less than a year ago my skin has gone crazy, I have bumps all over and more blakheads than ever, also what really worries me is how my pores on nose and cheeks have become larger and quite obvius, and at the same time my skin feels dry and am getting the beggining of fine lines around my eyes!!! It is crazy!! I tried proactive with no result and then the oil cleansing with castor oil, which actually made me flare up with lots of pimples and my pores got even worse…
I am considering now an apple fast, and a candida detox, but I really don’t know what to do about the ENLARGED PORES… I just feel they are so unnatractive and I am worried about them becoming a permanent problem from many of the things I have read on the internet.. any ideas???
Also lastly, since going trough this I really whant to turn to natural solutions as much as possible, and I am not really sure what I can use as moisturizer over the face and eye contour that would keep it wrinkle free and also acne free.. any recomendations? Thanks a lot!
Hi, I have blackheads since I was 11 and I use exfoliating mask, but my blackheads don’t dissapear for an instance. What’s wrong?
I’ve read that lemon juice is good for blackheads. It makes them less visible or something. I don’t know. I haven’t exactly tried it, but it would probably work good as a toner before going to bed. I read it in a health book. It has some stuff about acne, but only one thing about blackheads, which is lemon juice. I’ve been thinking of trying it, but i’m trying to clear my face first. It’s wierd this summer my face was really clear, but i changed my entire skincare regimen and i broke out really bad. Now i’m struggling to get it clear again. I’m going back to the regimen I had in the summer and i’m starting to see a little improvement. Hopefully, it’ll work. Then I might try the lemon juice for blackheads.
Hello, I have had blackheads for only a year now and its really getting on my nerves. Could you reccomend a good product that gets rid of SOME of them because I have tried loads of stuff but it seems that you know what you are doing so please please please please reply back,
Thank You,
Phoebe
Hi Phoebe, my answer is pretty much what I’ve written in this article!
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