The case of the stubborn blackhead that turned into a two hour saga

Had a client come in last week with what looked like a simple blackhead on the nose. I went in with my usual tools, but the thing would not budge. I tried steam, extractions, even a different tool from my kit. After about 45 minutes of careful work, I realized it wasn't a blackhead at all, it was a tiny, deeply embedded piece of graphite from a pencil. The whole process, from start to finish, took a full two hours. Has anyone else ever found something completely unexpected during a routine extraction?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair6261mo agoTop Commenter

@emery_taylor is right, I used to think those were always blackheads.

margaretshah20d ago

Remember when we all thought every little dark spot was a blackhead? I spent years attacking my own face over what turned out to be just... my pores. I felt so betrayed by my own skin. It's a relief to finally know the difference, honestly.

emery_taylor1mo ago

Wow that sounds like a total nightmare session. I can just imagine the frustration when nothing was working. Finding a piece of pencil lead is wild, you really never know what's under the surface. Major respect for sticking with it for two hours, that's some serious dedication.