We might be ready to forgive blackheads if they weren’t so stubborn. But without the assistance of a talented esthetician, trying to urge obviate those annoying little spots is usually a vicious cycle: It seems like you need to scrub at them (or pull them out with a pore strip) to filter out the gunk, but that harsh exfoliation isn’t doing you any favors either—in fact, it’s going to worsen the difficulty. Fun, right? But before resorting to the large guns (i.e., hardcore chemical treatments or prescription creams), we thought it wouldn’t hurt to undertake a couple of home remedies for blackheads we have seen floating around the internet—many of which are labeled as “the ONLY thing that has EVER worked” or something thereto hyperbolic effect. True or false? you will have to stay reading to seek out.
Lemon Juice Salt Scrub
Deven Hopp, Beauty Director: “I’m typically not a lover of physical exfoliation (glycolic acid all the way), so I used to be a touch intimidated by this salt scrub recipe, which involves a tablespoon of sea salt, a teaspoon of lemon, and a teaspoon of water. I ended up adding more water thereto to form the scrub less gritty and cut the juice a tad. I used to be expecting the mixture to irritate my sensitive skin, but thankfully it didn’t. it had been a touch messy, but I need to admit it felt nice and my skin felt baby-soft after rinsing.
My skin looked fresh and clean, but the blackhead improvement seemed minimal at the best. The ingredients do have antibacterial properties, so perhaps with continued use, you’d start to ascertain a difference. But I feel I’ll persist with chemical exfoliation within the end.”
Clay Powder and Apple vinegar
Victoria Hoff, former Wellness Editor: “I had high expectations for this formula since I usually use clay powder to dry up regular blemishes. the thought is that the clay helps suck out the impurities while the ACV disinfects and helps clarify pores.
From the get-go, the appeal on my behalf of me was how easy it’s to throw this together: I simply mixed Aztec Secret’s Healing Clay ($8) with Bragg’s Unfiltered Apple vinegar ($10) during a one-to-one ratio until they formed a paste, smeared it on my nose (which is typically Blackhead City), and let it dry.
The crazy thing is that I knew it had worked before I removed the paste because I could see the dirt lifted from the pores in little raised dots underneath the clay (TMI?). surely, after rinsing, most of the blackheads were gone.
It only lasted a few days before they began to reappear again, but considering how little time and energy this needs, I’ll take it.”
Egg-White Pore Strips
Victoria: “I admittedly love the sensation of shedding a pore strip, so I used to be game to offer this popular Pinterest hack a try. First, I dipped a bit of towel in albumen (which has astringent properties and is additionally known to tone pores), put it on top of my nose, then put another layer of towel on top of that before letting it all dry.
once I felt that the paper towels had hardened—many sorts of a traditional pore strips—I was ready for that satisfying peel. But then… nothing. I looked down and noticed two (TWO!) blackheads on the towel and declared this a fail. But not all is lost! That clay paste was a revelation.”
Honey and Lemon
Lindsey Metrus, Managing Editor: “As someone with oily, breakout-prone skin, I have my justifiable share of blackheads. They’re totally on my nose, chin, cheeks, and scattered around my forehead—okay, so basically everywhere. I usually use cleansers with 2-hydroxybenzoic acid and peroxide creams, but they’re definitely drying and sometimes even make my skin peel.
Consequently, I used to be excited to undertake a natural method that might hopefully be less harsh on my poor skin.
“First, I cut a lemon in half and poured a few tablespoons of honey on top of the flesh. Then I sprinkled on some sugar (for exfoliation).
I rubbed the lemon everywhere on my skin and immediately felt love it was working. The acid from the lemon was leaving a sort of burning effect on my skin (in a hurts-so-good quiet way), and therefore the sugar was working as a scrub to take off those dead skin cells. I didn’t care about an excessive amount of honey and felt the love that it was more sticky than anything, but who knows? Maybe it had been working its magic!
“I let the lemon-honey-sugar concoction sit for a couple of minutes then rinsed it off with water. I could not see any visible results, but it felt cleaner and softer. the subsequent morning, however, I noticed that my pores were tighter and therefore the blackheads on my chin and nose were less visible. Success! I used to be so happy to possess discovered a remedy that delivered results—sans the chemicals.”