Treatment for Blackheads

Choose your makeup and face products carefully. Everybody has that one brand of makeup that makes them break out. Sometimes it's incredibly noticeable and occurs within days. Sometimes it develops slowly, over time. Either way, pay close attention to the products you put on your skin. Irritation of the skin can increase the causes of blackheads. Avoid products that are heavily oiled or scented. Don't share makeup with friends, and don't let it get contaminated with bacteria by leaving it open too long or letting your dirty fingers touch it. The object, here, is to avoid oily skin.

Cleanse your face night and day. Wash your face. This seems like such an obvious step, but it's one often overlooked. Over or under-washing your face can cause or exacerbate blackheads. It's easy to forget to wash your face "just this once" when you've been out drinking, camping, or otherwise whoo-hooing it up, but missing a good wash "just once" can really do some damage. If you knew all the oil, dirt, grime, dead skin cells, and what-have-you gunk that builds up on your face, you'd want to claw your face off, not just wash it. Just don't claw. Washing with plain soap and water is fine.

Warmth will open the pores to better treat blackheads. It's difficult to clean out your pores when they're clamped down tightly on a blackhead. Almost every blackhead treatment available (though not all) suggest that you wash your face in warm water before beginning the treatment. Wetting a clean washcloth in warm water and laying it over the area affected by blackheads for five minutes is a gentle way to open the pores. This can allow the blackheads to be extracted with a blackhead remover, or it can allow the blackheads to be treated with medication. Gentle steam, such as from a hot shower, is another excellent way to open your pores.

Use a blackhead remover tool and not your fingers. There are blackhead removal tools available at every corner drugstore. While there is some argument as to their effectiveness, one thing is certain: they work better than your fingers. Fingers are dirty, nasty things. Having had more than a dozen body piercings, I've heard enough piercers say, "If you touch it, it's going to get infected." Poking at blackheads is the same. It can irritate skin, damage it, or introduce new bacteria to cause new, worse pimples. At the very least, your face gets all blotchy and red. Yes, the temptation is hard to resist. Solution? Google Video "zit popping."

Try blackhead pore strips. They aren't a perfect solution, but they do work. I've had moderate success with them. They won't pull out every blackhead, but they get some of the most prominent ones. It's completely painless (if you aren't a whiner), far less expensive than some other blackhead products available, and you can get them at almost any drugstore. Biore is a very popular brand, and it's the one I used. These particular blackhead removal strips contain witch hazel and tea tree oil, known astringents (nifty things that tighten up your pores to prevent extra gunk from getting back in to create new blackheads).

Use an exfoliant to get rid of blackheads. Exfoliants are tricky things. On one hand, they can help your body to slough off old skin cells and help keep your pores from getting blocked. On the other hand, they can irritate the skin, cause redness, and can sometimes make blackheads worse. What I can tell you is, if you exfoliate, use one made of natural materials, not synthetic. Do not exfoliate more than once or twice a week. Do not exfoliate if your skin becomes irritated or red. Rub the exfoliant on damp skin, rub it (gently) in small circles, and rinse thoroughly. Treat your skin gently afterward.

What Your Doctor Can Do about Your Blackheads

Blackheads, a result of acne, can be treated by your doctor. While general practitioners can suggest treatments and give prescriptions, dermatologists are specialists concerning skin and may be able to better cater to your specific blemish needs. Because acne comes in so many types (acne vulgaris, acne conglobata, acne fulminans, etc.), there are a wide variety of treatments available. Whether the cause is related to hormones, genetics, diet, or an outside irritant, a dermatologist is more likely to identify the source of it and either prevent it from forming or treat it once it has occurred.

Depending on what causes your acne, your treatment will, of course, vary. Some of the possible treatments include topical antibiotics, internal antibiotics, hormone adjustment (read: birth control pills), exfoliants, dermabrasion, chemical peels, or more. There is a large variety of treatments available in a variety of price ranges. However, as most of these are by prescription or specialist only, you will have to make an appointment with a dermatologist or other skin specialist.

Blackhead Removers

A lot of us either don't have the patience to follow through with a blackhead treatment regiment or don't need it because we only need to remove the occasional blackhead. This is where cosmetic companies like Simco, Revlon, and Pfeilring come in. These companies make a number of different blackhead removers, and for a reasonable price too—sometimes less than $3.00. A blackhead remover works by using a circular pressure pad to apply, well, pressure to the areas directly surrounding the blackhead, pushing the comedone toward the surface for safe removal. You may want to opt for the Revlon Stainless Steel black head remover because they're easier to clean and keep sterile, preventing further infections.