Popping pimples may be oddly satisfying. You may even be picking at your blemished skin without even thinking you're doing it. If popping pimples or picking at your skin wasn't such a terrible thing, we'd all be doing it without worrying it'll cause scarring or hyperpigmentation. Seeing an esthetician to handle our pores can be costly, especially for those who make a trip every four weeks.
Let's dive into what clogged pores are and how you can take care of your skin without cAustin’s damage.
What are clogged pores?
Our skin produces its own oil called sebum, which is a natural oil that coats the skin to seal in moisture. For some of us, sometimes the sebum over-produces resulting in clogged pores. This clogging leads to blackheads, whiteheads, acne, and cysts.
What’s the difference between blackheads, whiteheads, acne, and cysts?
Blackheads occur when oil and dead skin cells get stuck in the pore while the pore remains open.
Whiteheads occur when the pore is closed and becomes filled with small amount of white pus. (Ew.)
Pimples form when a combination of bacteria, dead skin, and oil are all trapped under the pore, causing inflammation and swelling.
Lastly, cysts is a severe and painful form of acne that's developed underneath the surface of the skin.
What's causing clogged pores?
There are a numerous reasons why your pores could be clogged. It could be the product you're using that's comedogenic, which is important to read the labels to ensure it's NON-comedogenic. Basically, a comedogenic ingredient is a substance that has a high likelihood of clogging the pores, subsequently leading to blemishes and blackheads.
It could be the environment you're in, especially if you're in the city, where a high density of air pollution leads to more dirt + grime on your skin.
If you live in high altitude where the air is more dry, your skin's overproducing sebum, causing clogged pores.
How do we make sure our pores are happy?
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Steaming: The most inexpensive + accessible way to prevent unclogged pores is by steaming your face.
Not only does it give you a spa-like experience like you would with an esthetician, steaming your face opens up pores and helps loosen any build up of dirt for a deep cleanse to soften blackheads. It also releases acne-causing bacteria + cells while also releasing trapped sebum.
You don't have to invest in a steamer. While boiling pasta or cooking hardboiled eggs, hover your face above the steam. Or you can wet a facial towel and steam in a steaming basket in a pot of hot water. Unwrap the steamed towel after you shower and place it on your face until the towel cools. Once your pores are open from the steam, take a clean washcloth or towel to safely remove blackheads and whiteheads.
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Activated Charcoal: Activated charcoal is one of the classic cures for clogged pores. It's a detoxifying agent that penetrates deep into the skin to clear skin. Charcoal also helps reduce the size of open pores by removing dirt, grime, and excess oils.
You can achieve a skin detox with charcoal by making a simple detox mask:
Mix activated 1 T of charcoal and 1 T clay with 1 tsp raw honey, 1 tsp ACV, 5 drops of tea tree oil and lavender, and a tablespoon of Greek yogurt. If the paste is too thick, dilute the mixture with 1/2 teaspoon of yogurt until your desired texture.
Or you can buy Pantry’s :)
- Honey + Lemon: We love solving problems with ingredients found in our kitchen pantry! Honey and lemon are a classic staple in everyone's household, not to mention, affordable and accessible for all.
Both honey and lemon contain antibacterial properties that aid in fighting bacteria-causing breakouts, they are gentle exfoliators that remove dead skin cells. Lemon also helps to clarify excess oil production while honey is full of probiotics, antioxidants, nutrients, and enzymes to work together to nourish and plump the skin, while it helps retain and rebuild moisture.
When you put two together, they make a fantastic remedy to get rid of blackheads. Want to make your own pore clearing mask?
Squeeze a lemon and mix a tablespoon of honey. Apply with a mask brush or just fingers and let it sit on top for 5-10 minutes. Rinse your face thoroughly.
Be sure to use sunscreen the next day after the mask because the lemon's acidity will make your skin sensitive to sunlight.
or your can try our fan-favorite Honey + Lemon Exfoliating Scrub
Do you have a secret weapon to unclogging your pores? Let us know in the comments below!
