How to treat blackheads on the face (English)

It is very easy to develop skin problems. It is enough to systematically ignore basic facial skin care: do not take off your make-up at night, use low-quality cosmetics (or inappropriate for your age), etc., as well as have a bunch of bad habits (this is not only about alcohol and smoking, but also about your eating style ). But fixing the problem is more difficult, to the point where regular facial cleansing is required. A cosmetologist will help you get rid of blackheads, but there are also home options for eliminating them.

Causes of blackheads

In order for the fight against unwanted points to be truly effective, it is worth looking at the “root” of the problem and acting in appropriate ways to solve it. Pores are clogged by various pollutants: sebum + dust + cosmetic residues = blackhead. Dirt sits deep in the pore and does not allow it to narrow, thereby provoking its constant expanded state. Because of this, the problem of blackheads can last forever: you just got rid of it, but the enlarged pores accept new impurities and the comedones appear again.

Example of blackheads on the nose

Some of the main causes of blackheads may be:

work of the sebaceous glands in “extreme” mode. This often occurs in adolescence during the hormonal formation of the body, as well as when this feature is inherited. Don’t forget about hormonal surges in women “once a month” during pregnancy;
“harmful” nutrition regarding the skin. Such delicacies include all types of sweets, smoked meats, preserves, buns and fried foods;
constant stressful situations;
inappropriate facial care (improper washing, after which impurities remain on the skin, ignoring makeup removal before going to bed at night, etc. also has a negative impact)
preference for cosmetics with dense textures, as well as its excessive use.

The presence of at least one of the presented factors in a woman’s life can appear on the skin of the face as small black dots, which definitely need to be gotten rid of.

Treatment methods for blackheads

Going to a cosmetologist or dealing with clogged enlarged pores on your own is every woman’s business. Fortunately, there are now enough methods for getting rid of blocked sebaceous glands, so you can use any suitable one.

In parallel to changing the style of caring for your skin, it is worth changing your diet, eliminating unhealthy foods (excessively sweet, fatty, smoked, etc.) from the foods you consume.

Steaming and mechanical cleaning

Simple tools for squeezing out comedones can be purchased at any cosmetics store; in extreme cases, they can be squeezed out manually. But before you do this, you need to prepare the skin:

remove makeup with your usual product;
wipe your face with a decoction of chamomile to cleanse the skin of remaining traces of cosmetics and disinfect the surface (or use a decoction of calendula or sage);
let the broth dry on its own on the skin;
carry out the procedure of squeezing out comedones with a tool or manually.

You can complete this cosmetic procedure for mechanical removal of sebaceous plugs with a soothing mask based on aloe or cucumber. But it is worth remembering that frequent mechanical procedures cause injury to the pores and stretch them, aggravating the situation.

Mechanical removal of comedones

You can steam the skin over steam (a decoction of chamomile, mint, sage, etc.), warm compresses, or simply in a bathhouse (sauna). But the steaming procedure is essentially useless without subsequent cleaning, because simply opening the pore with steam is not enough, the comedone will not go away on its own. Therefore, it is further better to use special adhesive patches for blackheads, which, after removal, will simply linger on them and leave the pores clean.

Adhesive plasters, patches and film masks

A prepared, steamed face is an excellent base for using any adhesive device, be it a small patch or a mask. But if it is not possible to steam your face, then feel free to choose a product with a warming effect (traditionally camphor is included in the adhesive side of a special patch).

Film masks for problem skin fit perfectly, filling all the dimples of the skin surface, so they are great for “pulling out” unfortunate comedones from the pores. Before using the mask, your face should be cleaned of excess dirt, and you should keep it on for as long as the manufacturer indicated in the instructions.

Blackhead patch

Recipes for masks against blackheads

If you don’t want to buy special masks, then there are home alternative ways to get rid of blackheads. Here are some effective recipes:

The easiest way to make a film mask is to mix 5 crushed charcoal tablets (pharmaceutical activated) with PVA office glue (1 tablespoon). Before the mask, it is better to cleanse the skin of dead cells using scrubbing. Next, you should apply the mixture to the “T” zone - forehead, nose and wings, chin. After complete drying, you can remove the resulting film, and along with it the comedones will be removed;
Another interesting mask is made from a chicken egg and essential oils of tea tree and ylang-ylang (3 drops each). You can do it every day, especially since it doesn’t last long – only 15 minutes;
if there is no inflammation on the face, then you can use this mask: mix a spoonful of baking soda with a spoonful of lemon juice and a pinch of cosmetic clay. Apply the mask to the nose and other problem areas, and after 20 minutes cleanse the skin with a sponge soaked in chamomile infusion. You can also simply wash off the mask.

Half an hour after using the mask, you can wipe problem areas of the skin with hydrosol of rose, chamomile, calendula, aloe, etc.

Scrubs and peelings for comedones

Scrubs and peelings can help in the complex of measures to treat acne. You can make the product yourself or purchase it at a cosmetic store.

Among the effective recipes for scrubs, we can highlight the following: for abrasives, you can take ground coffee or “Extra” salt, ground apricot kernels, chopped nuts, etc. Take a spoonful of the selected abrasive (take a tablespoon or a teaspoon, depending on the required amount of scrub), add this a spoonful of honey and a few drops of lavender ether.

You can combine the following components to make your own homemade scrub:

cinnamon powder + honey + tea tree ether;
white clay + cucumber juice;
sea salt + avocado juice;
baking soda + liquid baby soap.

For peeling, it is effective to use honey, namely the patting method (pour a little honey onto your palms, rub them and use patting movements to work on the face, namely problem areas with pores). Such actions “pull out” comedones from the pores using the natural stickiness of honey. It is also effective to use strawberry pulp, which will serve as a scrub, and its acids as an “acid” peeling. To enhance the effect, you can use a special cosmetic glove.

Salon beauty treatments

If you can go to a salon, you can use various cosmetic procedures to get rid of sebum accumulations and blackheads that have appeared. A specialist, after examining the skin, can suggest the following methods for removing comedones:

mechanical cleaning (although not a particularly useful procedure for the skin, it is effective. It takes place in several stages. After the session, a recovery period is required);
phototherapy (a safe procedure without pain, which is carried out with a special device and requires a course of 8-10 sessions. Reduces the appearance of new blackheads and acne, blackheads disappear for a while, and the skin looks much healthier);
chemical peeling (non-intense peeling brings the skin “to life”, normalizes the functioning of the sebaceous glands and thereby eliminates blackheads);
mesotherapy (“the right” medications will not only improve the skin’s overall health, but also relieve it of many problems, including blackheads. A course of such therapy is necessary to see the effect);
biodermabrasion (one of the peeling options, which is carried out using a complex of mechanical and chemical effects, with the help of the procedure you can significantly reduce the number and appearance of blackheads);
fractional laser (an expensive procedure with a long recovery period, but it completely gets rid of blackheads. At the same time, you can reduce wrinkles and skin irregularities);
ultrasonic cleaning (a gentle procedure that requires a course. But it significantly reduces pores and normalizes sebum production).

Ultrasound facial cleansing

In order for the salon procedure to give the expected effect, you should follow the cosmetologist’s recommendations for skin care after the session.

Cosmetic creams, masks and lotions

On the Internet you can find a lot of reviews about the use of this or that cosmetics for blackheads. Some express their “wow” from the effect, but there are also those who were completely dissatisfied with the result. In any case, there are plenty of such products on the cosmetic market.

Be that as it may, the use of cosmetics has its place. Manufacturers claim that only products from one line can be a salvation from blackheads and other similar skin problems. One line, as a rule, includes all the necessary “jars and bottles” for cleansing and caring for the skin of the face. By the way, it often happens that inexpensive complexes have a much greater effect than their famous expensive analogues.

Line of anti-blackhead products

Pharmacy creams and preparations

There are opinions that experts in the pharmaceutical craft know some unique recipes for drugs that allow them to look young for many years and at the same time quickly eliminate skin problems.

When contacting a dermatologist with the problem of comedones, he can select individual proportions of talkers, creams, and ointments. Among these popular remedies, pharmacists-magicians can make:

zinc-based chatter (+chloramphenicol, aspirin, dimexide, etc.);
ointment based on sulfur (+zinc, streptocide, etc.).

If you look at the pharmacy counter, you can find ready-made creams for blackheads: Differin, Propeller, Baziron. Ointments: Zinc, Ichthyol, Retinoic.

Prevention of acne and blackheads

It is easier to prevent the occurrence of comedones than to try all sorts of ways to get rid of them. Cosmetologists note the following basic preventive measures that prevent blockage of the sebaceous glands:

if inflammation appears on the skin, you should not try to get rid of it using mechanical cleansing or other aggressive procedures (for example, squeezing out the comedone yourself);
It is not recommended to remove oily shine on the skin with alcohol-containing products, or to remove makeup with them;
Do not wash your face frequently with soap or use scrubs every day, this can cause excessively dry skin;
you need to use cosmetics specifically designed for a specific skin type;
Do not use oily cream for oily (or combination) skin.

Treatment of acne and comedones is quite lengthy and unpleasant, and can also require considerable expenses. Timely cleansing of the skin will prevent the development of infection, and suitable cosmetics will eliminate the problem of intense work of the sebaceous glands.

Today, many girls have to deal with such a problem as black spots on their faces. Blackheads (or, as dermatologists call them, open comedones) occur due to blockage of the ducts of the sebaceous glands. As a rule, they appear due to increased production of sebum and numerous bacteria that affect the skin of the face.

Most often, those with oily facial skin struggle with this scourge, but it is not surprising that the problem of blackheads also worries other representatives of the fair sex.

In addition to excess sebum, the formation of blackheads can be caused by insufficient exfoliation and cleansing of the skin, incorrectly selected decorative cosmetics, lack of healthy food in the diet and, finally, what everyone has encountered - hormonal imbalance and constant stress.

Blackheads on the face: treatment at home

In order to get rid of blackheads on the face, you need to cleanse the pores. This can be achieved in many ways, ranging from the most basic to the lesser known. For example, every girl knows that she needs to wash her face twice a day and always wash off her makeup thoroughly at night, regardless of any fatigue. But in certain cases, these simple measures may not be enough.

If daily comprehensive cleansing does not help you, try steaming your face once a week under a warm shower or, if you do not have dilated blood vessels on your facial skin, use special herbal baths. Carrying out such a procedure is not as difficult as it seems at first glance: just pour boiling water with chamomile or linden infusion into a pan, cover with a towel and tilt your face over the pan.

Maintain the optimal distance: you want to steam the skin properly, but not burn it. With your hands disinfected in advance with alcohol, begin squeezing out comedones. Be sure to wrap your fingertips in sterile wipes and start the procedure only with clean hands - otherwise you risk getting an infection. After eliminating blackheads, wipe the skin with diluted hydrogen peroxide or a special lotion, and then walk over the enlarged pores with an ice cube and moisturize the skin with cream.

Despite the fact that special baths are an effective and, subject to all rules, safe method of eliminating blackheads, there are also softer, but no less effective ways to treat blackheads on the face at home, including various masks (in particular , film masks), peelings, scrubs and special strips for the T-zone.

The procedure for exfoliating the skin with scrub or peeling should not be carried out every day: unlike soft gommage, with constant use these products can injure the skin. Of the purchased products, the most effective are acid masks that lighten and dissolve blackheads, as well as clay-based products - they are able to regulate sebum production.

There are also homemade recipes for masks that combat blackheads.

An egg mask works great. It is extremely simple to prepare: beat the egg whites with lemon juice and apply for 20 minutes, then rinse.
An oatmeal mask also produces an amazing effect; To prepare it, grind oatmeal in a blender, dilute with milk, add a few drops of grape oil and keep on the skin for half an hour.
A mask based on soda is simple and ingenious: mix a little salt and soda, use any foaming facial product (you shouldn’t use regular soap - you risk drying out the skin) and apply the resulting mixture onto a thick layer of foam. Keep the mask on for 10-15 minutes; After you wash it off, wipe your face with toner and use moisturizer.

You can create a home analogue of fashionable cleansing strips. Mix a crushed tablet of activated carbon with a teaspoon of water and ½ teaspoon of gelatin, microwave for 10 seconds and apply to problem areas. After 20 minutes, when the mask has hardened, carefully, like a film, remove it. The black dots will remain on it.

Treatment of blackheads in the salon

It can be ultrasonic (deficiencies are eliminated using an ultrasonic scraper), atraumatic (a special cleaning composition is applied), mechanical (manual) and vacuum (pores are cleaned under pressure). As additional care, fruit, acid and abrasive (with exfoliating particles) peelings are recommended, which must be carried out in a course of 5-10 times. If the situation is too advanced, dermatologists recommend laser resurfacing and various injections that regulate the production of sebum in the necessary areas of the skin, but these are extreme measures, which should be resorted to only as a last resort.

Prevention of camidons

Minimize surface contamination of the skin - do not touch your face with your hands again, try to remove hair from your face. Be sure to wipe your cell phone down with an alcohol-soaked tissue every day—otherwise, when you press it to your cheek to talk to a friend, you'll transfer thousands of bacteria to your face.

Review your nutrition system: of course, a radical revision of your lifestyle is at your discretion, but exclude sweets, flour, fried and spicy foods, and alcohol from your diet as much as possible. On the contrary, you should eat cereals, seafood, fruits and vegetables more often.

Choose cosmetics based on your skin type, look for skin care products labeled “non-comedogenic” and avoid thick textures that interfere with skin breathing. If you prefer to apply a thick layer of foundation and then powder the skin, then replace all of the above products with a good BB cream, which will not only successfully replace the thick coating and give the skin the opportunity to breathe, but will also take care of the epidermis.

As for skincare cosmetics, when washing your face, use special foams, for example, with tea tree oil, which removes excess oil and dirt from the skin. Pay attention to the line of exfoliating creams that cleanse pores and gel serums to restore the balance of problematic skin.

Pamper your skin, take care of it, avoid stress, eat right - and be beautiful, healthy and happy! Your Super Cosmetologist!

When pores become clogged with sebum and dust particles, they become dark and inflamed. Mostly, blockages occur on the nose and in the T-zone of the face, since the glands that secrete fat are most active in these areas. The reasons why blackheads appear may be different; it is more important to find out what means exist to remove them, preferably once and for all.

What are blackheads

Scientifically, they are called open comedones. In fact, these are clogged pores with sebum, dirt and dust, etc. Comedones can be of different sizes (and small ones, which are difficult to squeeze out, are no better than large ones that spoil the appearance), can become inflamed, then turning into pimples. The problem of blackheads is medical, therefore, to solve it, it is recommended to seek help from a cosmetologist. However, there are home methods for getting rid of it.

What they look like

Comedones look as they are described - they are dark spots that appear primarily on the nose and T-zone (forehead/bridge of the nose), but can be located on other parts of the face, such as the cheeks and chin, or on the body. The problem is especially pronounced in those with oily or combination skin types and enlarged pores. The visual effect of black pores results from the accumulation of dirt in them. The more clogged debris, the larger and darker the dot.

Why do blackheads appear?

Unlike teenage acne, clogged pores also occur in adulthood. The reasons for this are as follows:

Hormonal imbalances in the body. At the age of 27-30, there is a sharp decline in estrogen in the blood, which is why sebum begins to be released in greater quantities than before. Some medications can also lead to hormonal imbalances.
Incorrect care. Scented makeup products and incorrectly selected cosmetics have a negative impact. Oily creams can clog pores. Drying medications can dry out the skin, causing it to produce more oil in response. In addition, if you neglect to regularly cleanse your face every evening and every morning (not necessarily with expensive toners, but minimal care, washing and complete removal of makeup before bed should take place), the skin will begin to become dirty.
Poor nutrition. Abuse of spicy, salty and fatty foods (especially fast food), coffee, energy drinks, and alcoholic drinks leads to active work of the sebaceous glands.
Smoking. Tobacco is bad for your skin. It is recommended to limit it or eliminate it altogether.
Sweating. This function can be adjusted: do not wear makeup on hot days, use thermal water, do not wear clothes made of synthetic fabrics.
Ecology. The air in megacities is more polluted than in villages. The solution is simple: cleanse your face as often as possible.

How to get rid of black dots

To choose an effective way to get rid of it, you need to find out the cause of its appearance. Only by solving the original problem will it be possible to clear your face of blackheads once and for all. The methods of struggle are:

Homemade cleansing face masks. They are made on the basis of drying and antibacterial components - lemon juice, kefir, chamomile decoction. The effect is noticeable after several repetitions.
Extrusion. This is a simple, but painstaking, painful work that is recommended to be done once every two weeks. You can sign up for this procedure with a cosmetologist or squeeze out blackheads at home yourself.
Peeling and scrubs. They can be homemade (contain sugar, soda or fine salt) or purchased cosmetics. Removal of blackheads using this method is carried out both independently and in salons. It is recommended to do it once or twice a week (for light peeling), less often for aggressive scrubbing.
Strips for removing blockages. They are sold in markets or made according to folk recipes based on gelatin.
Combined drugs. Medicinal gels containing anti-inflammatory components and antibiotics. They cleanse from the inside, penetrating deeply into the layers of the epidermis, thereby destroying harmful microorganisms.

How to treat blackheads on the face