Blackheads aren’t filled with dirt
For all of those popaholics out there who enjoy watching online videos of blackhead and pimple extractions, you might be surprised to find out that it’s a common misconception that blackheads are the result of dirt building up in the pores of our face. In the same way pimples form as a collection of dead skin cells beneath the skin, blackheads are made up of similar cells and an oily substance called sebum which is produced by the sebaceous glands of a hair follicle. When exposed to the air at the surface of the skin, surrounding oxygen oxidises the sebum, turning it black.