Caring for your pores can be pretty tricky when all you really want to do is squeeze the gunk out of them. And sure it’s super satisfying to watch all the gross gunk that comes springing out of your pores, but squeezing your pores isn’t exactly a great form of pore care.
If you squeeze out blackheads or clogged pores, then you may end up causing more damage in the long run. For one, picking at your pores can be painful and for another it can lead to inflammation and scarring. But, if you really want to extract them it’s best to have a professional do so.
Extracting gunk from pores is generally not the best way to keep your pores clear. If you squeeze out pore gunk without addressing the causes then they’ll just keep clogging up. The best method is to make sure you’re tackling the factors that trigger clogged pores.
And that starts with a pore care routine:
Step 1: Cleanse the skin twice a day 🧼
The gunk that gets trapped in your pores is usually made up of excess sebum, dead skin cells, dirt, and sometimes makeup residue. To remove all this buildup from the surface of the skin you’ll want to cleanse the skin twice a day, especially if you deal with oily skin.
Oily skin types tend to have it a bit rougher when it comes to clogged pores. Since excess sebum is one of the contributing factors of clogged pores, oily skin types usually are all too familiar with clogged pores, blackheads, and overall larger-looking pores.
Our Pore Cleanser with Niacinamide is a gel style cleanser that gets foamy and bubbly to help lift built up dead skin, oil, dirt, and makeup from the skin. So even if you don’t cleanse twice a day but you're a makeup wearer, make sure to cleanse the skin at the end of the day to get all the makeup off before bed.
Step 2: Exfoliate 🧴
While your cleanser helps take care of the surface pore-clogging factors, adding an exfoliant to the skin helps get deeper in the pores to clean out pores and keep them clear. The purpose of an exfoliant, whether it’s a toner or serum, is to actively get rid of pore-clogging gunk and keep it from clogging up your pores in the future.
But, you also have to be careful with exfoliants. While you can use some exfoliants daily (depending on the ingredients) it’s best to test out your skin’s tolerance. It can also help to start off slow and then build up to daily use.
Our Pore Serum with Niacinamide is made with gentle exfoliants (which makes it great for regular use) like Glycolic Acid and Salicylic Acid to help flush out pore gunk and minimize the look of enlarged pores. So while you may not be completely able to erase the look of pores, you can take steps to help diminish the look of large pores by keeping them clean and clear with the help of an exfoliant.
Step 3: Moisturizer 💧
If you have oily skin, skipping moisturizer is probably not the best even if you think your skin can’t possibly need any more moisture. But, if you skip out on necessary hydration, your skin may produce more oil to make up for what it’s missing.
You also don’t have to use a thick cream. You can try lightweight, water-based moisturizer to get the needed hydration without feeling greasy (like our Dermafix Blemish Moisturizer).
Step 4: SPF ☀️
Lastly, you can’t forget SPF. Sun protection plays a huge role in pore health, especially if you deal with larger-looking pores. While you can’t really do anything to alter the size of your pores, there are factors that can make your pores look bigger.
One such factor is sun damage. Sun damage can break down the collagen that helps pores keep their shape. And once it breaks down, your pores may start to look a lot more noticeable.
So, whether it's rain or shine it's always recommended to use SPF daily.
Step 4: Treat as needed 👃
If you still find yourself unable to stop squeezing your pores or you use damaging pore strips, the good news is that there are gentler alternatives.
Our T-Zone Pore Patch is made of Hydrocolloid, a wound-healing material that helps absorb gunk from the skin. But, a big difference from traditional pore strips is that you won’t get that painful peel that feels like it's taking off the top layer of your skin.
The specially shaped T-Zone Pore Patch fits over the nose, chin, and forehead, some of the oilier areas of the face to help absorb the excess sebum. Plus, if you break out on the t-zone area, the patch also helps absorb pimple gunk to shrink those blemishes.
And, it’s safe enough to use whenever you feel like your pores need some extra care.
