Blackheads or open comedones can be surprisingly stubborn. You clean your face every night, control excess oil, and try every pore-cleansing trick, yet those tiny black spots seem to reappear somehow. The urge to squeeze them gets extremely strong in such cases. But when you finally do squeeze your skin, the aggressive extraction turns your epidermis red. Trying to remove these notorious little blackheads ends up causing you skin damage.
So the question comes: What actually removes blackheads without damaging your skin? The answer lies in loosening the buildup rather than pulling them out forcefully.
Why Do Blackheads Appear on Your Skin?
To know the correct method to remove blackheads, we need to first understand what causes them. Contrary to popular belief, it is not trapped dirt on your skin.
Those tiny black spots are actually a result of trapped natural oil, or sebum, and dead skin cells forming a plug inside your tiny hair follicle. The dark color comes from the oxidation of the dead cells below the epidermis and the sebum combined.
This is why these open comedos do not wash away if you wash or scrub your face excessively. Instead, excessive washing can strip away your skin’s natural defense barrier, resulting in excessive skin damage.
Why Squeezing Blackheads Can Lead to Skin Damage
Squeezing your blackheads often feels like the quickest solution, but that ultimately leads to skin damage. Here’s why—
- Using your fingernails also damages the surrounding epidermis
- Excessive pressure results in redness
- Small wounds or scabs might appear from skin friction with nails
- Inflammation can occur if redness is severe
- If squeezing ruptures a hair follicle, then a open comedo can turn into a pimple
- The blackhead-turned-pimple can be painful and swollen
- Your fingernails pressing onto the epidermis can cause skin breakouts
Pushing your nails into your skin ultimately does you more harm than good.
How to Pull Out Blackheads Effectively
Now that we know how blackheads are formed, let’s explore how to pull them out without damaging your skin.
In the case of blackheads, an exfoliation process includes slowly lifting the top layer of dead skin without breaking the skin barrier or causing breakage. The process to achieve this is always chemical rather than physical. The magic ingredient is salicylic acid. The acid gets into the clogged pores and loosens any buildup.
Step 1: Gentle Exfoliation
The most common mistake is overdoing the chemical process. Buying and applying six products containing salicylic acid at once can make the situation worse. Instead of just removing excessive oil, it will make your skin overly dry.
We suggest that you use one salicylic acid cleanser if you have dry and sensitive skin and a salicylic toner if you have oily skin. That will suffice. Instead of DIY, you can undergo a deep cleanse facial at our Moonee Ponds or Cheltenham clinics.
Step 2: Professional Skincare Treatments
For blackheads that are too stubborn and old, you can go for professional skincare treatments. The core treatments for this include:
- Manual extraction using a sterile stainless-steel loop tool
- HydraFacial treatment using a vortex suction tip to vacuum out the pore congestion
- Chemical peels to dissolve the top layer of dead skin
- Laser treatment
Think of professional treatments as an enhancement of your daily skincare routine rather than a substitute for it. It can be particularly beneficial when you have blackheads in concentrated areas like the nose or cheeks.
Step 3: A Consistent Cleansing Routine
Pores are naturally prone to congestion, so make it a habit to regularly cleanse your skin. Choose a cleanser that suits your skin type and does not include harsh chemicals. Avoid using hot water or excessive scrubbing.
What Happens After Extraction
After a successful extraction, your skin becomes sensitive for a few days. Avoid immediate scrubbing or applying excessive skincare products. Focus on hydration and barrier support for your epidermis to recover. Blackheads can reappear, so it is important to manage congestion and skin balance with a routine.
Blackheads Returned After Treatment: What to Do
Blackheads can return as quickly as a few days after a professional treatment. Experiencing this return can be extremely painful. It is impossible to stop your epidermis from producing sebum and shedding skin cells.
In case of a good treatment from a professional parlor, it might take 15-20 days for blackheads to return again. But for at-home blackhead removal strips or if you have exceptionally oily skin, your next open comedo can reappear after 2-3 days only.
What speed runs the return? Skipping the post-treatment skincare at home or applying too much skincare and makeup.
The best way to delay the timeline of open comedos from reappearing is to regularly apply one skincare product containing salicylic acid and leave on a tropical retinoid. The salicylic acid will clean up built-up sebum, while the retinol will clear out dead skin cells.
Conclusion
Clearer pores don’t require aggressive methods. Constant squeezing, picking, or excessive washing can leave your skin more damaged than before, while forceful scrubbing can result in skin breakouts.
The right way to pull blackheads out without damaging the skin is to regularly apply salicylic acid, maintain proper hydration, and seek professional treatment at when necessary.
For the right products and treatments, discover how the Advanced Naturals collection pairs perfectly with a mindful skincare routine to remove open comedos gently, without damaging your skin.