skin oils of the nose

[Sisyphus]

Simple question. Why are human noses so oily compared with the rest of the skin? Wild and uninformed speculation welcome as always.

[Skye]

Oils are protective excretions, the nose is exposed. Boom.

[tomgwyther]

Fingers and ears are also exposed; they're not oily.

[Skye]

I believe fingers produce a fair amount of oil, but it is removed by the general wear that fingers get involved in (your keyboard is probably an example). Ears produce more waxes and greases (higher mw, lower mp) than oils, but they produce lots of the stuff.