Blackhead and clogged pore removals are a common step in a professional facial but did you know there’s a way to safely remove them yourself at home? Here’s my expert skin care advice for do-it-yourself extractions to keep your pores clean and clear without harming the skin.
What you’ll need:
-cellophane/plastic wrap
-wash cloths
-facial tissue (Kleenex)
-heavy moisturizer
Preparation: For the best results, it’s recommended to remove blackheads immediately after a shower since the skin temperature has been raised. This will soften the hardened oil within the pore making for easier extractions.
How to perform manual extractions:
After showering, apply a thin coat of the heaviest moisturizer you have available to the area you’re wanting to extract. By using a rich moisturizer, it will create a temporary occlusive seal to keep the heat trapped in the skin, which for extractions purposes is necessary…
Next, cover the area with cellophane/plastic wrap and apply a hot, damp wash cloth for five minutes. Use TWO wash cloths. The top one will help the one below (that’s touching the skin) to retain its heat longer.
Remove the plastic and keep the skin moist by applying a bit more moisturizer as more than likely, it will have wiped off on to the wash cloth.
Wrap tissue over each forefinger and gently squeeze to remove blackheads or clogged pores. The goal with squeezing is to avoid positioning the fingers too close as this won’t allow the blackhead to come out. Widen them out a bit so that the blackhead will be extracted easier from the deeper level within the skin.
To avoid creating squeeze marks, go easy and be sure to relocate the position of your fingers. For example, position fingers at 3:00 and 9:00 and then 5:00 and then 10:00, 2:00 and 7:00. My general rule is…three strikes and you’re out. Meaning, if it doesn’t come out after three tries, don’t do it any longer or you’ll risk damaging the skin or potentially breaking a capillary.
When finished, wipe over the skin with an alcohol-free toner and then apply a cooling gel mask to reduce any redness or a clay based mask to purify the pores.
So there you go! A safe and effective way to remove clogged pores for those who wish to do it themselves. Blackheads will slowly re-appear over time, so it’s important to get either get regular monthly facials to get the pores manually cleaned or do them yourself. My first suggestion would always be to see a skin professional for manual extractions but I do realize that this may be more practical for many.
How do you prevent blackheads and clogged pores from coming back?
Use products with Salicylic Acid to keep pores clean. Once the pores are clean, it’s important to incorporate products into your routine that use acids, such as AHA’s and BHA’s to absorb directly into the pores and keep them cleaned out, as well as preventing the oil from filling back up so quickly. Skin care products with acids might include cleansers (see AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel), Beta Hydroxy (BHA) serums (see BHA Clarifying Serum) and at-home pore cleaning peels (try Triple Berry Smoothing Peel). Be sure the products are gentle and do not contain SD Alcohol 40 or Denatured Alcohol. Note: Do not use any acid-based products for at least 24 hours after manual extractions.
Prevent the oil from oxidizing. A blackhead is simply oil that has oxidized and turned black, so if you can prevent the oil from oxidizing, the oil will not turn black (or at least as quickly).
Antioxidants used in skin care products have many benefits such as encouraging collagen production, lightening discoloration (brown spots) and slowing down the production of skin-damaging free radicals, but one surprising benefit is their ability to prevent oil from oxidizing, hence the name antioxidants meaning ‘anti oxidation’ Here’s an example of how antioxidants prevent oxidation. You know when you cut an apple into slices and after a while it turns brown? What would you do to prevent it from turning brown (oxidizing)? Simple…just squeeze lemon juice, which is high in vitamin C, onto the apple and the apple will not turn brown as quickly. Well the same rules apply to the skin and blackheads. By using an antioxidant, particularly one with magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (a stable form of vitamin C), will be very beneficial for keeping the sebum from turning dark in color.
Renée Rouleau is a skin care expert & celebrity esthetician who believes there’s more to skin than the one-size-fits-all approach. Her exclusive skin care line is based on nine unique skin types, rather than the standard–dry, normal and oily. Her skin care products, Dallas skin care spas and her LA and NY pop-up spas attract a celebrity clientele which includes Demi Lovato, Anna Faris and Eva Amurri Martino. Visit www.ReneeRouleau.com for more information.
