Blackheads may not be as painful as acne but they can be extremely frustrating, especially if you’ve spent a huge chunk of your budget on products that are supposed to help – and the more you try to get rid of them, the more they seem to increase in number.
Blackheads can happen when the follicles on your skin develop a clog or a plug. It can be due to dead skin cells, excess oil or dirt that can collect in the opening of the follicles. As your follicles get more clogged, bumps, called comedones, can develop.
If these bumps remain closed, they’ll be called whiteheads. When the bumps open and get exposed to air, they turn black and they become blackheads – and when they get infected, they turn into acne.
To prevent breakouts due to blackheads, you need to make sure your pores remain clog-free. The following three tips can help you with that:
- Wash your face regularly – This is one of the most important things you need to do if you want to prevent blackheads. Cleansing your skin means decreasing the chances of sweat, dirt and dead skin cells getting trapped in your pores. Choose a cleanser that contains salicylic acid. It’s a great ingredient that can help with cellular turnover and in removing plugs in pores. Benzoyl peroxide is another ingredient to look out for. Apart from preventing clogged pores, it also has the ability to fight off acne-causing bacteria. After washing, don’t forget to apply the best oil-free moisturizers for acne-prone skin.
- Exfoliate twice a week – Since clogged pores can cause of blackheads, you need to limit the chances of dead skin cells and dirt getting trapped inside your pores. Exfoliation can help you with that. It can remove dry skin cells from the surface of your pores, improve the flow of blood to your skin and even out your skin complexion. When done properly, it can also reduce dark spots and blemishes to a certain extent. When exfoliating, make sure you aren’t applying too much pressure on your skin. Although you want to buff away dead skin cells, scrubbing your skin hard can be very damaging to your skin. You can leave it vulnerable to bacteria and free radical damage. As to how frequent you should exfoliate, try to limit it to twice a week. Doing it more than two times weekly can leave your skin dry and dehydrated. Once this happens, your skin will be forced to produce more oil in an attempt to compensate and protect itself. The more oil it produces, the more skin problems you’ll have.
- Detoxify your pores – Once a week, treat your skin extra special with the best clay mask for blackheads. One of your best options is bentonite clay. It has purifying properties as well as the ability to tighten and tone pores. It can also boost your skin’s blood circulation as well as aid in toxin removal. Other than bentonite clay, French green clay, dead sea clay and kaolin white clay are great options, too.
Do you have any tried and tested tips to share?
Hannah Do is the founder of Thank Your Skin, a beauty blog dedicated to providing honest skin care advice and information. She aspires to help her readers achieve their most beautiful skin by sharing personal tips learned through both years of experience and thorough research. Check out her latest article about Best Drugstore Powder For Oily Skin. You can find her on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.
