[Skin Concerns] Sebum plugs hardening on nose, leading them to easily be rolled out of pores as grits and causes very visible hollow pores.

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https://imgur.com/a/LWr5Tc1 (Won't let me post image thread for whatever reason so used imgur)Hello!I have been struggling with this unfortunate phenomenon for nearly 6 months now and I haven't had a lot of success and any root causes/potential fixes for this.Ironically, I hadn't really noticed this issue UNTIL I started a skincare routine for maybe 5 months into it.Original routine: AM -Cerave gentle foaming cleanser -Loreal hydro boost with collagen peptides moisturizerPM -Cerave gentle foaming -Cerave skin resurfacing retinol serum -Loreal moisturizer (same one)Twice a week spaced out -Ordinary aha and bha peeling solution -Loreal moisturizerCurrent routine (past 3 or so months)AM and PM -Cold water -Ordinary hyaluronic acid lightly applied while face still dampI realize no sunscreen is a huge mistake, however unfortunately due to the nature of my job my face would rarely get exposed to sunlight and whenever I would be outside (inside 90% of the time) I would have a mask up to my eyes.Almost all advise I see about minimizing pore appearance suggests exfoliating and retinol, but it seems this combo has given me this sebum plug grit phenomenon along with somewhat worse looking orange peel skin on cheeks and nose. I was curious if I went too hard on retinol and exfoliant (skin would never burn or anything) and I compromised my moisture barrier leading to all of this, so I stopped everything aside from good ol water and hylauranic acid. My skin was actually starting to progress and look better, however I will still have these hard and gritty sebum plugs that I had never noticed before trying skincare. I just miss having plugs that are squishy and would have to be squeezed out (tried avoiding that in past, but not perfect). Now I'm sometimes nervous just to scratch or rub my nose because of the massive hollow pores that could follow from rubbing a hole plug out.Has anyone struggled with this? I did end up finding an old reddit post about this, but the suggestions did not seem to help me https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/6uyxm3/pores_that_look_hollow_after_sebum_plug_is/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=shareThis seems to be a somewhat quiet subject online as the big push is always making sure your pores are clear, but I honestly prefer slightly clogged pores because the flesh colored plugs tend to make my pores much less visible than the completely empty pores.
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Submitted by monkeymetroid