Hard wax meant to remove nose hairs can be repurposed to pull out blackheads. Just spread it on then yank it off— kind of like a pore strip meets peel-off mask.
Use Products With Salicylic Acid
One go-to ingredient for eliminating blackheads is salicylic acid, a beta hydroxy acid that increases cell turnover and unclogs pores, says Saedi. Suozzi adds that the acne treatment can help dry active acne lesions because it is a mild chemical irritant.
Blackheads and closed comedones can be extracted. Inflamed acne and milia need to be treated by a healthcare provider. You can extract blackheads at home as long as you use gentle pressure and avoid squeezing the skin with your fingernails.
“Gently press on each side of the blackhead until it begins to release,” she says. “Apply slow and even pressure, and once you are able, lightly pinch the tweezers and pull the blacked out material from the skin to extract it. If the blackhead does not release easily, do not continue to attempt the extraction.”
It's actually completely normal for you to have some holes initially after removing blackheads. This is because the dirt and debris filling the pore is suddenly gone, leaving a small space.
Cleanse with salicylic acid
Salicylic acid is the preferred ingredient for treating blackheads and whiteheads because it breaks down the materials that clog pores: excess oil. dead skin cells.
They form when pores become clogged with a combination of dead skin cells and excess oil (sebum) from your sebaceous glands. Unlike whiteheads, which create closed pores, blackheads have open surfaces, which creates an oxidation that's dark in color.
While cellophane tape could possibly remove surface dead skin cells, it's unclear how effective this method is in removing clogged gunk in your pores. Don't use masking, duct, industrial, or any other type of tape that could be harmful to your skin.
Via Refinery29, Elizabeth Tanzi, M.D., agrees that after the clay mask brings all the junk to the surface, physical massage can "indeed dislodge clogged pores and whatever's inside them."
Deep blackheads should be removed by a medical professional — usually a dermatologist or medical aesthetician. They use a small tool with rigid metal loops on the ends (blackhead or comedo extractor) to apply even pressure to your blackheads.
For deep blackheads, dermatologists use photopneumatic therapy. The process involves a combination of intense pulsed light lasers and a hand-held vacuum. Using these together allows your dermatologist to get deep into your pores to remove dead skin cells and excess sebum.
Home remedies for blackheads are green tea, tea tree oil, salt scrub or sugar scrub. Green tea helps lower the oil production on your skin while tea tree oil can stop the growth of bacteria. The salt or sugar scrub exfoliates your skin and removes the dead skin that is clogging the open skin pore.
Over-the-counter (OTC) topical medication such as salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide can be applied to your blackhead to loosen the plug before you try to pop it. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, then apply pressure to both sides of the clogged pore using your fingers.
Because the pore gets stretched out of shape, it will fill back up again even after it is emptied. These stubborn pores are most likely to occur on the face, chest and back. However, they can also emerge on the ears, neck and scalp.
In the case of blackheads, these comedones consist of follicles beneath your skin with very large openings, or pores. When you have blackheads, these large pores become clogged with a substance known as sebum. A chemical reaction with the sebum occurs under your skin.
Sanitize a needle or pin with rubbing alcohol. Gently prick only the very top of the whitehead with the tip of the needle. Do so on an angle that is parallel to the skin. Don't go so deep that you draw blood.
A sebum plug can look like a tiny bump under the surface of the skin or it may stick out through the skin like a grain of sand. When a sebum plug forms, bacteria that normally lives harmlessly on the surface of your skin can start to grow within the follicle.
During extraction, the therapist uses a special blackhead tool to apply pressure to your nose to loosen and release the sebum from your pores. After the facial you may notice a bit of redness from the pressure, but this dies down within the day.