BLACKHEADS

[freelance lover]

I say just get with a good skin care routine and then wait for them to go down or pop them yourselves. I was a slave to drug store face washes and creams, but I finally switched to an all natural routine and my skin look just the same if not WAY BETTER for a faction of the cost. Coconut oil scrub in the shower every morning (3 parts sugar to 1 part coconut oil), then apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegary to 3 parts water) with a cotton ball all over my face two times a day. Then tea tree oil (1 part tea tree oil to about 8 parts water) with a Q-tip for trouble spots. The only product I use now is Miracle Oil by Pure Romance, which has tea tree oil and vitamin E, and is good for treating scars as well as acne. I only use as needed. I should also note I've ALWAYS had terrible acne, so that (as a 25 year old) I finally found a routine that works for me makes me SO happy.

[Oh Horatio]

i would recommend looking here

/r/skincareaddiction


these people know what's up, but it's a lot of reading

[Opidreams]

Toki Bird

You're better off just gently squeezing out the sebum from your pores as if you don't use pore strips correctly they can be more damaging then good.

I admit I do this. It probably will disgust most people to think about/hear. I have a ton of scarring from picking at my skin and such though, so you probably don't wanna do this. It's just that it's more of an anxious habit for me.Luckily the worst of it is on my torso so it's not like it's in public view.

[Toki Bird]

Opidreams

Toki Bird

You're better off just gently squeezing out the sebum from your pores as if you don't use pore strips correctly they can be more damaging then good.

I admit I do this. It probably will disgust most people to think about/hear. I have a ton of scarring from picking at my skin and such though, so you probably don't wanna do this. It's just that it's more of an anxious habit for me.Luckily the worst of it is on my torso so it's not like it's in public view.

If you do it properly it won't damage your skin.

[Leo Minor]

Manuka Honey has been the best thing for me. My face is ultra sensitive to soaps and stuff, but this honey has literally been a miracle cure for me. I've even had tablets and cream from the doctor that has done naff all but the Honey is great, you can see changes pretty much the day after you start using.

Just leave it on your face for 3-5 minutes and wash it off, then sleep, and watch your face get pretty. I've heard you can use raw honey too which is a lot cheaper but the Manuka stuff has more bacteria killy thingies.

[durpz1]

I buy the stuff from the store. I use it in the shower.

[Whiskey Grey]

Benzoyl Peroxide or Duac Once Daily gel.

[Hanage]

freelance lover

I say just get with a good skin care routine and then wait for them to go down or pop them yourselves. I was a slave to drug store face washes and creams, but I finally switched to an all natural routine and my skin look just the same if not WAY BETTER for a faction of the cost. Coconut oil scrub in the shower every morning (3 parts sugar to 1 part coconut oil), then apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegary to 3 parts water) with a cotton ball all over my face two times a day. Then tea tree oil (1 part tea tree oil to about 8 parts water) with a Q-tip for trouble spots. The only product I use now is Miracle Oil by Pure Romance, which has tea tree oil and vitamin E, and is good for treating scars as well as acne. I only use as needed. I should also note I've ALWAYS had terrible acne, so that (as a 25 year old) I finally found a routine that works for me makes me SO happy.

Tea tree oil is, however, very unsafe for pets. So I recommend that those with pets be aware or this and look for other oils. Rose hip oil, argan oil, sweet almond oil, and probably tons of other oils I don't know about are also good for skin.

Personally I use witch hazel to clean my face (need to get one which doesn't dry out your skin because some witch hazel products are filled with alcohol) and that works out for me pretty well. Then in crummy weather or if I feel like it I'll use some oils.

Baking soda should also work for making a scrub.
Or ground coffee. Caffeine's great for making you skin look pretty~

[Immoral Mathematics]

Just get an extractor and someone who loves hurting you. My girl got me one and holy s**t it's neato,.

[Jason0690]

I never found them to work.
What I have found to work, is to take a hot, steamy shower, apply face lotion right out of the shower, and repeat this for like a week. Then, after hot shower, go to mirror, pop those ******** out(they should actually come out very easily.), use some low percentage rubbing alcohol, toner, or witch hazel, then put on some face lotion.

See, for me the little sebum plugs get dry and hard, then they don't want to come out. With the use of lotion after a shower, it traps the moisture, rehydrating the plugs, then after a week of doing that, and them popping them out right after a shower, the pores are enlarged and they should come out with ease. Witch hazel, toner, or Rubbing alcohol kills off any germy ickness from the blackheads, and then lotion kinda fills in the pores, preventing more dirty and icky.

At least that's my best guess.
Regardless, this seems to work the best for me, since I cannot keep my hands off of my nose for the life of me.(Damn you, allergies!) I've had blackheads the greater majority of my life, and in general doing this seems to help with a lot of my other types of acne - the only one it doesn't help are the ones that are huge, horridly painful,, never really come to a head, and are extremely red - usually under the nose, or on the chin.

I kinda wish I knew more about acne classifications.

[Frantic Search]

Try a salicylic acid gel and sunscreen all day every day(<-- That helps a lot with my dark pores, surprisingly.)
I've also heard charcoal/clay/etc. masks are good for blackheads. And full fat yogurt masks. And a healthy diet.

[The Prophet Magus]

Leave 'em alone and you'll be able to cast Black Hole with them.

[Anabolics]

Apricot/Green Tea/Oatmeal scrub, what else do you need tbh?

[Little Dead Soldier]

Pore strips are a waste of money. I wish they worked better. Its best to not wash your face everyday, but more like once or twice a week with soap (I use olay). Also, when you do wash your wash, first use warm water to open your pores, and then cold water to shrink them when you rinse (I also use those green mud masks to shrink pores right after I wash). Also, I dont use any oils on my face because I break out more from it. I just use oil-free, fragance-free sunscreen on my face. When you do buy frangance free stuff, watch out because half of them are lying..so always read the back. Sometimes the word fragance is in a different language to extra trick you, but its pretty easy to figure it out. You dont want to use fragance items on your skin if you have sensitive skin like me. It also makes me break out more on my face.

Edit::
Other things that have helped me from shrinking pores and having better skin.
-I no longer use shampoo for many reasons, but I have notice my face looks better as well from no longer using shampoo.
-Wash your pillow case and blankets once a week to remove excess oil build up.
-After taking a hot shower, rinse your body with cold water to close and shrink your pores.