"Custer Blackheads"... Can they happen/are these them?

I have this skin issue, which usually my face is fine, except these two places and the only things I get there are those AWFUL blackheads that have been there for YEARS, recently I stopped drinking a lot and starting having > one beer a night (was drinking 12... 16 oz.  On my nose they'll squeeze out or when I used the blackhead remover tool they'll come out, but the blackhead is still there cause you can see it, and I know my pores are big on my nose and chin because I mean they're each the size on the ball on a sewing pin... I mean big, I need to know how to make the nose blackheads go away for good as well as the chin but this is my chin issue... I'll use the "tool" and get out a single blackhead that will scab up at night because I always get too rough/carried away and I HAVE to get that head out... or at least pop.  Then the scabbing will literally grow over an amount of skin (the skin has blackheads) and blackheads/  Then it will become this "custer blackhead" scab type thing that will not go away unless you literally keep ripping off the scab and pulling out the elastic like heads - which there are at minimum 5 heads in each one of these "clusters" that occur, always and only one cluster at a time... This last one went over the total skin where my blackheads are located (crease of chin) and I thought for sure I wouldn't get any more there, or at least that these were finally gone and the nose was my only concern, and they came back - I literally pulled each head out (aprox. 12) with a pair of tweezers - yes painful - and healed the scab with neosporin and the things still came back... How do I make them STOP!?

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

The only method to keep blackheads at bay is to keep the skin clean and oil-free at all times. Taking plenty of water and plenty of fruits and vegetables is advised for a healthy skin. Regular steaming and scrubbing and ointments containing benzoyl peroxide/ clindamycin may also be beneficial. If these basic measures do not seem to be helpful, I would advise seeing a dermatologist for alternative therapies.
Hope this helps.

Take care!