Acne on Nose: Log Pore Strips, Glasses Pads and Nose Blowing

Habit or situation	What to log	Basis
After squeezing or picking	The date and method, and how many days the spot stayed red or left a brown mark	Of 324 acne patients in seven Asian countries, 58.2% had marks left after acne, and at least half lasted a year or longer · B (2016)
When your hand wanders	When your hand went to your nose: studying, working, in front of a mirror	30 patients who pick their acne scored higher on unplanned impulsivity than 30 who don’t · B (2023)
Shine	How shiny your nose gets in the afternoon	In women with acne, oiliness tracked with how much oil each follicle put out rather than the number of active oil glands · B (1991)
Redness that doesn’t fade	Weather, drinking and hot food on days your nose and cheeks flushed	Rosacea is marked by lasting redness, bumps and flushing on prominent areas like around the nose and on the cheeks, chin and forehead · Korean Dermatological Association
Extraction	Whether you squeezed it yourself or had it done at a dermatology clinic	A dermatologist may extract comedones, but you should not pick or squeeze inflamed pimples yourself · KDCA (Korea)

Squeezed with a pore strip or your nails? What to write down

Write the date and method (pore strip, nails, cotton swab), how many days the spot stayed red, and whether it left a brown mark. If you also follow whether a new bump comes back in the same spot a few days later, the link between squeezing and your nose breakouts shows up in the table.

A 2016 survey that assessed 324 acne patients in seven Asian countries found post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, the dark marks left after acne, in 58.2%; at least half lasted a year or longer, and 22.3% lasted five years or longer. In the same survey, patients said these marks bothered them as much as or more than the acne itself, and scratch wounds were common. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) also notes that scratching or squeezing acne yourself makes scars more likely.

In what moments does your hand go to your nose?

Writing down the time and place your hand goes to your nose shows where to cut back. One study found higher unplanned-impulsivity scores in people who pick, so knowing when comes before knowing how much, and makes it easier to cut back.

In a 2023 case-control study comparing 30 acne patients who pick with 30 who don’t, the pickers scored higher on the non-planning part of an impulsivity scale, and the more severe the picking, the higher that score. Depression and anxiety scores did not differ between the two groups. Just write down the situation as it is, like a student touching the side of the nose while leaning on a hand during exam prep, or an office worker rubbing their nose while watching a video call.

Should you log glasses nose pads and nose blowing too?

The sides of the nose bridge where glasses pads sit, and the sides of the nostrils and under the nose where you wipe with tissues, get rubbed over and over, so mark them separately. The idea is to check whether days you blew your nose a lot for allergies or a cold, or wore glasses all day, line up with new bumps.

The Korean Dermatological Association lists friction or mechanical irritation, pore-clogging cosmetics, stress and heavy sweating as factors that can bring on or worsen acne. We found no study that looked at nose pads or nose blowing alone, so this column is not for pinning down a cause; it is a log for finding overlapping days. During seasonal changes, noting nose blowing as roughly “a lot, some, a little” is enough.

Blackheads, rosacea or acne: what should you look at?

If dark dots sit evenly in each pore and the skin around them isn’t red, think blackheads or oil; if your nose and cheeks flush often and the redness doesn’t fade, think of rosacea separately. Writing down the temperature, drinking and hot or spicy food on days the redness came up makes it easier to explain at a visit.

The Korean Dermatological Association explains that rosacea appears on the center of the face, especially prominent areas like around the nose, and on the cheeks, chin and forehead, with lasting redness, bumps and pus bumps, and repeated flushing, set off by things like UV light, heat, cold, alcohol, and hot or irritating food. In a 1991 study of oil output, shine in young women with acne was linked to the amount of oil each follicle produced rather than the number of active oil glands. That means a very shiny nose alone can’t tell you why nose acne happens.

Weekly nose habit log

Day	Pore strip or squeezing	When your hand went there	Glasses (hours)	Times you blew your nose	Redness or new bumps
Mon	None	Rubbed side of nose during a meeting	9	Some	None
Tue	1 with nails	At the mirror at night	9	Some	Red where squeezed
Wed	None	During exam prep	10	A lot (allergies)	1 new bump on side of nose
Thu	Pore strip	—	4	A lot	Red on bridge of nose
Fri	None	—	9	A little	Brown mark where squeezed
Sat	None	—	0	A little	None
Sun	None	At the mirror at night	0	A little	None, photo

At the end of the week, just mark whether redness or new bumps overlapped with days of squeezing or hand-to-nose moments, and days with lots of glasses time or nose blowing. Pick the habit that overlapped most, cut back only that one the next week, and compare using the same table.

When is it time to have a dermatologist check your nose?

• If a squeezed spot keeps swelling, gets bigger and hurts, stop touching it and see a dermatologist.
• If redness on your nose and cheeks hasn’t faded for weeks and keeps flushing, have a dermatologist check whether it is rosacea.
• If you find it hard to stop picking on your own, talk to a dermatologist about it along with your skin.
• If a brown mark from squeezing hasn’t lightened after several months, consider seeing a dermatologist.

What this article is based on

• A 2016 survey in seven Asian countries (324 acne patients) found post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation after acne in 58.2%, lasting five years or longer in 22.3%.
• A 2023 case-control study found 30 acne patients who pick scored higher on unplanned impulsivity than 30 who don’t.
• The Korean Dermatological Association explains that rosacea shows up as lasting redness and flushing around the nose and on the cheeks, chin and forehead, set off by things like heat, UV light and alcohol.