[101] Lose The Battle, Win The War: Blackheads

Once upon a time I had massive problems with blackheads on my nose . I had them since I was in high school and they were just . so . prominent . It wasn't until I was 22 years old that I finally got properly rid of something that was just so freaking hard to erase . Was it an extremely long-winded journey ? yes . Did I make terrible mistakes ? yes . Was it costly ? yes . But hey, am I glad that it's finally gone ? heck . yes .

idk 'bout you, but I'm feeling 22 (& not self-conscious about blackheads !)

Now tbh it's not like all of the blackheads are gone, but the majority and essentially all the really deep and nasty ones are gone . I don't think you can permanently not have blackheads on your nose (for the blackhead sufferers, yes that includes me) simply because your skin gets exposed to dirt . It's only inevitable . HOWEVER it's not like they're super obvious . So hey, it's bearable news for me lol . But there are blackheads deep within those pores that I think we all agree, are far better off not there .

The Don'ts of Blackhead Removal

• Do NOT scrub your nose until the blackheads are gone
  My dad would always point out my blackheads so he told me that scrubbing it would get rid of the skin . Not like that wasn't true, but the thing is, my skin is sensitive . So my dad's skin may be made of some sort of metal, that's great . But not mine . Even though it did erase the majority of the blackheads (but not the REALLY deep ones-do take note), it would actually break my skin and I'd have these mini scabs on my nose for a week or so when I did it- not like I wasn't self-conscious already .
• Do NOT scratch it off
  It sounds dumb to do, I know, but I was desperate, and I would see immediate results . However, just like scrubbing your nose, it can also leave scars like a mother chucker or even worse; pimples .
• Do not use tweezers, or pins; or essentially anything that takes them out one at a time
  Especially when you have a lot of them, and you know why ? Because it's a major huuuge waste of time . Now unless you're alright with the agonising long process (that doesn't even guarantee if those blackheads will stay away), then you can ignore this point .

Tips & Products that helped with my Blackhead Removal

• THE FACE SHOP's Blackhead Out White Clay Nose Pack 

This product was good at extracting the majority of not only blackheads; but whiteheads as well . It's similar to a BIORE pore strip but you peel it off rather than kinda rip it off . It uses natural ingredients which helps to not irritate your skin as well . Now maybe the deeper blackheads will also go away eventually if you use this product, but I wouldn't really know . Thing is you'd have to use this on quite a constant basis . However it is pretty cheap, being an average of $6 on eBay .

• OST C20/21.5 Serum Cream

To be honest, I didn't actually buy this product FOR the fact that it had blackhead reducing features, but one day after using this product for around 4 months, my blackheads were suddenly gone . Yup . Lucky me indeed ! This serum also helps with permanently whitening your face as well . This is admittedly much more costly than FACE SHOP's Blackhead White Clay Nose Pack; buying the serum and cream together is an average of $40 . However it's still definitely cheaper than other serum and night cream combos . If you use this product every night (or nearly every night lol) and on a consistent basis, but once these products are used up I guarantee you'll see results .

• Properly cleanse your skin !
  I use to only use soap to cleanse my face, but that was due to the fact that all the Western cleansing products would seriously hurt my skin . However once I got a cleanser that agreed with my skin, and cleansed my face day and night, I can see it helped a lot . Using a proper cleanser I could see that it would take out my blackheads immediately after the wash (this is after I no longer used the OST serums as well) . Regular cleansing helps to take out those would be and could be blackhead nightmares .
• Exfoliate .
  I don't do this yet, but I can see that even though I don't have terrible bouts of blackheads anymore, my nose produces excess skins . I think my nose is an epic horror spot and if it doesn't want to produce blackheads then it'll want to produce something else . If you have trouble with blackheads chances are this'll happen to you too after permanent blackhead removal so using the right exfoliation on your nose is necessary . It is extremely difficult to exfoliate and not hurt your skin, but I'm currently eyeing the SKINFOOD Black Sugar foam scrub which seems to be popular for the fact that it's not too harsh on the skin . Another popular favourite is ETUDE's Baking Powder Crunch Pore Scrub .

SKINFOOD's Black Sugar Foam Scrub

• Avoid touching your nose
  This maybe common sense and it's a general rule of thumb to not touch your face . But ABSOLUTELY . DO NOT . TOUCH YOUR NOSE if it isn't straight after you cleaned your hands ! I learnt this the hard way too (because my nose would always get itchy) and it really aggravated permanent stay of blackheads . I know it's very tempting especially after pore masks on your nose, but that's why I recommend more permanent removals like serums . 

So those are my tips for removing blackheads and keeping them out . Like I said before, blackheads will come back but if you cleanse constantly, that really isn't a problem . The serum may be a little costly, but considering what else I've seen in the market I think it's quite a bargain . Plus I've been living without it for a month and I still haven't seen any permanent blackheads on my nose . But please do take note of the after effects of blackheads as well (this is why exfoliate is bolded lol) !

I think ultimately, if you just stick to using a serum and cream in your night routine, it'll help to get rid of the blackheads rather than using pore strips all the time, on top of all your other skincare routines . So I really prefer using the serum and cream . And after packets and packets of using clay strips, if the costs adds up to more than the serum and cream combined...you may need to re-think your options .

Do you suffer from blackheads ? Have you used any of the products above and it didn't work ? Any products that did ? I'd love to hear !

Signing out,

-THE TEACOAST .

by j 9:38:00 AM 0 comments