Fordyce spots
Also called: Fordyce granules · Sebaceous prominence
Tiny pale yellow or white bumps, 1 to 3 mm across, on the edge of the lips or inside the cheeks. They are ordinary oil glands in a place without hair. Most adults have them.
How common
Does this happen to you?
How it works
Sebaceous glands make sebum, the oil that keeps skin soft. Almost all of them open into a hair follicle2. Fordyce spots are sebaceous glands with no hair follicle. The glands sit just under the surface and show through as a small pale bump1. Each spot is 1 to 3 mm across1. They sit in groups, most often on the vermilion border, the edge where the lip meets the skin, and on the inside of the cheeks13. The same glands also occur on the genitals, where they look the same and mean the same thing3.
The spots are probably present from birth but are tiny3. At puberty, hormones make oil glands more active, and the spots become bigger and easier to see23. This is why many people first notice them as teenagers. They are painless. They do not itch, ooze, or spread.
How common it is
About 70% to 80% of adults have them1.
Is it a problem?
No. Fordyce spots are not an infection, not contagious, and not a sexually transmitted infection. They are not caused by poor hygiene. They need no treatment. Squeezing can push out a thick, chalky discharge1. Do not pick at or squeeze them3.
See a doctor if a bump:
- is painful,
- grows,
- bleeds,
- forms an open sore.
Also see a doctor if you are not sure what you are looking at. A doctor can tell by looking3.
History and culture
The spots are named after John Addison Fordyce, an American dermatologist who described them in 18961.
Sources and further material
- Wikipedia Fordyce spots
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