# Why is the outside of my nose greasy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085 "2002-09-22T03:24:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/1 "2002-09-22T03:24:47Z")
This is gross, but I’ve noticed that nearly every pore in my nose seems to have a blackhead, or has pus I can squeeze out. It’s like this all the time. My nose is also very oily. Is this strange or normal? What’s the explanation? Also, please don’t let this go in IMHO. This isn’t opinion. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/2 "2002-09-22T03:39:31Z")
Jeez, I’ve never had a thread quadruple posted before. Anyway, back to the question. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/3 "2002-09-22T03:43:25Z")
Wow! Congrats on the quadpost. This is not an answer. It is a practical anecdote. As a coin dealer, I am grateful for “nosegrease.” I use it daily. When I pick up a copper cent that has been laying in a drawer for 50-100 years, it is dull. Copper oxide, or something like that on the surface. I wipe my nose(or brow), get a little grease on my finger, then rub it on the coin. The grime of the ages comes off, and a nice lustre is revealed. Voilla. Saleable coin. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/4 "2002-09-22T03:57:39Z")
I hope you have a sign saying “please wash your hands after purchase” in your store. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/5 "2002-09-22T05:07:29Z")
It’s also great for keeping the fizz in pop down when you pour it into a glass. As it’s foaming up to the top, either wipe the end of one finger across your nose or between your eyes and touch the foam… or simply stick the very tip (2-3mm) of your nose in, and watch the foam fizzle down twice as fast. Oily noses seem fairly normal… don’t stage performers and actors put some stuff on to keep naturally greasy parts of their faces from shining abnormally in the lights? And all those commercials for the little sticky strips to put on your nose to pull tiney blackheads and oil out - and these seem to be used by youngs girls of all people, so I wouldn’t worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/6 "2002-09-22T05:37:21Z")
Wow, I just posted a question about the smell of metal and then I read this post: with talk about about noses, \‘picking up a copper cent’\, and a post by Tycho Brahe (the ultimate cross of metal and noses). Is Puns N’ Noses a metal band? ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/7 "2002-09-22T05:53:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Great Zamboni \* > \*\*This is gross, but I’ve noticed that nearly every pore in my nose seems to have a blackhead, or has pus I can squeeze out. It’s like this all the time. My nose is also very oily. Is this strange or normal? What’s the explanation? > \*\* Regular washing of your face regularly might prevent the blackheads and infection. My previous post should have had \ this reference\. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/8 "2002-09-22T06:52:33Z")
[Sebaceous Glands](http://skincarerx.org/oily.html) > [@](#): > > The oil is produced by oil glands known as sebaceous glands. These glands are bigger and more active in the region of the nose than any other areas of the face. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/9 "2002-09-22T07:19:19Z")
Is it related to the wet noses that dogs and cats have? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/10 "2002-09-22T12:30:00Z")
I have the same problem. Big pores trap dirt easily. It doesn’t help that I work in a dirty & humid environment. This encourages my skin to work overtime generating sweat & oil, and the high humidity prevents the perspiration from evaporating, so it just stays on my skin acting like flypaper to trap whatever airborn dirt floats by. The only thing that seems to help is constant cleaning. I use an astringent like Sea Breeze which helps the pores open up (even wider) and then soap & water with abrasion (washcloth or brush like a back brush) to clean out the pores. I even have this setup at work so I can do it during the day. If I am even the slightest bit lax in this procedure, it’s pimple city. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/11 "2002-09-22T12:53:44Z")
While I am not an expert, everything I have heard suggests the opposite to extreme cleaning. Removing the natural (if gross) oils from these areas just encourages the sebacious glands to produce more. Go down to washing your face once a day with a washcloth and lukewarm water, and give your nose a chance to “balance out”. You will probably look like a pizza for a week or two, but just keep up the mild cleansing and things should balance out after a while. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/12 "2002-09-22T13:32:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\*Is it related to the wet noses that dogs and cats have? \*\* No. Not to get too deeply into the physiology of the dog’s nose, but the moisture on a dog’s nose is primarily water-based (to facilitate evaporation-related cooling, since dogs have no sweat glands), while the sebaceous fluids that make your nose oily are, well, oil-based. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/13 "2002-09-29T01:48:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Regular washing of your face regularly might prevent the blackheads and infection. I regularly wash my face regularly. Every time I bathe. I have considered Oxy pads or something, but if what Iteki said is the right thing to do, then that is probably the best thing. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/14 "2002-09-29T02:11:56Z")
Any scientific reason why the nose is so rife with sebaceous glands? Or just an oddity of human physiology.? ---
**Author:** ![cdhostage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@cdhostage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdhostage)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/15 "2002-09-29T03:02:35Z")
Oiliness is holiness. Actually the other way around ark-ark-ark! There’s no way to avoid it - some people have especially productive sebaceous galnds in their noses. It faded in and out for me duringt adolescence, and comes around now under high stress. Odd. It’s decidely different from sweat - this is one of the few scents I’m sensitive to (I’m anosmic, of a sort). ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/16 "2002-09-29T03:42:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > **…Voilla.** It’s voila! [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=137195](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=137195) ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-outside-of-my-nose-greasy/129085/17 "2002-09-29T11:27:20Z")
Surely, in this context, its Viola?