Everyone Needs This Weekly Hack For Removing Blackheads
When it comes to the best way to remove blackheads, the traditional remedies are unusually violent for skincare. Whether you’re being told to submit to potentially damaging extractions, or ripping off the top layer of your skin with “pore clearing” strips, there doesn’t seem to be any way to banish them that isn’t hideously painful.
Until now, that is. If paying a stranger to dig at your face sounds like your idea of hell, we’ve got you covered. Here’s the quickest, easiest and most gentle way to get rid of blackheads—and oh yeah, it also really works. Perfect skin is only twenty minutes away!
1. Brew some strong green tea and let it cool until it’s room temperature. Green tea is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and will help calm your skin as the blackheads are removed.
2. Mix a tablespoon of baking soda with a small amount of aloe vera (gel works best, but you can also use crushed fresh aloe if you have it). Add the green tea 1/4 teaspoon at a time, stirring in between, until you have a thick, white paste. If you accidentally add too much liquid and it gets too runny, add some more baking soda until it thickens up.
3. Remove your makeup and wash your face with warm water, so that your skin is clean and your pores are open.
4. Using your fingers or a small, dense brush (a wide concealer brush works perfectly), apply the paste to the areas that have blackheads. Avoid your undereyes, your nostrils and your lips—and definitely don’t eat it. It won’t hurt you, but it also tastes gross.
5. Allow the paste to dry. This takes between ten and twenty minutes, depending on how thickly you’ve applied it. This paste works like a pore strip, adhering to the tops of any blackheads or pore blockages, and readies them for removal.
6. Using a warm cotton washcloth, wipe the now-dried paste away with firm, downward strokes. As the baking soda comes away, so too will your blackheads—and because you’re not ripping them away, your skin won’t end up red and irritated afterwards!
7. Wash your face again with a gentle cream cleanser, tone with an alcohol-free toner, then moisturize. Don’t apply makeup for about an hour to give your pores a chance to close all the way.
8. Voila! Repeat this process every week—but not more frequently than that—to maintain your beautiful, blackhead-free skin.
