Y
ou know those tiny, skin-colored bumps that manage to creep in on your face? Yes, those pesky little bumps that seem harmless but make your skin look congested and not as smooth as you’ve worked for it to be. They are likely sebaceous hyperplasia, which occurs when the oil glands in your skin get overactive. While it might sound gross to have overactive oil glands, sebaceous hyperplasia is more common than we often think.
Causes of sebaceous hyperplasia
Sebaceous hyperplasia is linked to aging, genetics, and too much sun exposure. As we get older, oil glands can go a bit haywire and start producing too much oil and too many skin cells around the oil glands. Now that you know what it is and its causes, let’s talk about treatments. Surprisingly, it’s pretty easy to banish them (if a bit tedious).
Treatment of this skin condition
If you want to treat sebaceous hyperplasia, here are some solutions to try:
- Retinol: This is a derivative of Vitamin A and is often hailed as the gold standard for anti-aging. It also happens to be great at clearing sebaceous hyperplasia through exfoliation. Just be patient as retinol takes time to kick in. You’ll likely go through an ugly purging phase first. But trust me, slugging through the process is worth it.
- DIY chemical peels: Light chemical exfoliation from at-home peels with glycolic or salicylic acid can also help dissolve the oil trapped under sebaceous hyperplasia bumps. Just don’t go crazy with the peels if you’re also using retinol or you might nuke your moisture barrier. Ease into it slowly, like you’re testing the temperature of a hot tub before jumping in.
- Satisfying extractions: If you can handle pain and love Dr. Pimple Popper’s videos, make an appointment with your dermatologist to perform extractions. Watching a professional squeeze out the oil plugging up your pores can be extremely cathartic; not to mention super satisfying in a gross kind of way.
- Cryotherapy: This uses extreme cold (we’re talking liquid nitrogen-level freezing) to damage the oil glands that cause sebaceous hyperplasia. Several sessions may be needed so be prepared for some skin-icing action. It’ll be a great story to horrify and impress your friends with.
- Zap them away with lasers: Laser treatments use concentrated beams of light to kick those bumps to the curb. The heat and energy from the lasers essentially disable the overactive oil glands that cause the bumps, gradually shrinking them down after a few visits. No knives, no blood, no puncturing your skin — just highly focused light doing its thing. It’s a sci-fi-grade solution without all the risks and long downtime you get from going under the knife.
- Electrocautery: If you don’t want lasers, try electrocautery. Tiny electric probes are used to precisely target and zap overactive oil glands via heat energy. Several brief sessions are done to manage oil production, reduce bump size, and minimize future breakouts. Because electrocautery allows such pinpoint precision beneath the skin without any incisions, there’s virtually no recovery time or complexity involved.
- If all else fails, cut ‘em out: As a last resort, minor surgery can be performed to cut out the affected oil glands. Luckily, this is rare, since most other treatments sufficiently banish sebaceous hyperplasia for good. Fewer scalpels cutting our skin means fewer scars.
Featured image: Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock
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