Throughout my teen years I had amazing skin. I rarely had breakouts and my skin always seemed to have a healthy glow. I thought because of that I was in the clear from future skin problems. Wrong! I'm about two weeks shy of turning thirty and have had more skin issues throughout my twenties than ever before. Because of this I have done tons of research on skincare and various products that claim to eliminate all of them. One thing I learned is that just because a product works on one person does not mean it will work on another. Here are a few things you need to know, and a few tips I learned along the way!
Everyone has pores! Some pores appear larger than others. Every hair on your body has a pore. Dirt and debris collect around your pores and eventually clog them. Underneath the tiny hairs on our face and under our pores are glands. These glands produce sebum. Sebum acts as our skins natural moisturizer. If our skin is not cleaned properly the sebum builds up and causes blemishes, white heads, blackheads, etc.
Over the years I have tried several different products that claim to eliminate zits, pimples, white heads, black heads, and say they eliminate dead skin cells which cause future clogging of pores. Some products have worked well, while others just don't!
Cleansing Your Skin
It is so important to properly cleanse your skin. While doing research on skincare I learned that the best way to clean your skin is to first open your pores. Since oil, dirt, and debris collect in your pores we need to unclog them. You can either steam your skin or use a hot cloth to enlarge your pores. Once you do this wash your face with your cleanser. Do this for a week and you will see a huge difference!
To Pop or Not To Pop
It is so hard when you see a huge zit on your face not to pop it! If you are anything like me then you don't want to walk around with a gross puss filled pimple in the middle of your face. I don't care what anyone says it somehow becomes the main focus of your face. Yuck! Another thing I hate is how white heads and black heads look. Whiteheads are those white or yellowish bumped up circles that somehow manage to pop up all over. Blackheads appear dark and cause your pores to look larger and almost dirty.
I'm not going to sit here and tell you to start popping every bump on your face, but I can tell you that if you are already a "popper" there is a better and easier way to do this without hurting your skin! That's good news!
First of all there is a facial tool you can use called an extractor. This is a better way of getting rid of those pesky bumps other than digging your fingernails into your skin. We all know that leaves marks on your face and causes the skin around the bump to become red. This is what they look like.
Here is the best possible way I have learned to perfectly remove whiteheads, and this really does work!
Steam your face! You can heat a pot of water and then place your face above it with a towel covering your head. Do this for a few minutes and you will notice your pores opening up. If you don't want to try this method a hot washcloth applied to your face for several minutes will do about the same.
Once you have steamed your skin your pores are now opened. This will make extracting pesky problems so much easier. Use your extractor tool and press gently into the skin. If you have to press too hard then you might want to wait a day or two more and try again. The whitehead/blackhead should come right out.
After you have extracted the problem areas cleanse your face. To close your pores you can take an ice cube wrapped in a cloth and rub across your skin.
A few weeks ago I noticed I had a good bit of whiteheads. They were driving me crazy and no matter what I did they wouldn't go away! I used this method and was amazed at how well they were extracted. I also use the steam method before cleansing at least once a day. Because I am limited on time I use the hot washcloth to open my pores then use a cleanser. It's also great to do this before applying a treatment mask. In less than a week my skin looks 99% better! No kidding!
Products
I mentioned earlier that not all products work for everyone. It is important to find a product that works for you! When you find one stick with it! Continuously changing products can also irritate your skin. Remember to always remove your makeup at the end of the day and if you don't like toners make sure you at least cleanse with a good cleanser! On top of that don't forget your moisturizer! That is a very important step!
I hope these tips helped and if you want further information or a detailed how to let me know and I will be happy to do a follow-up post!
