In recent years, the beauty world trend has fluctuated from wearing heavy makeup to getting bare, fresh, healthy skin. With the rise of the new ideology “Wake Up like that” from French women, people prioritize having healthy skin rather than wearing too much makeup to cover the skin’s problems.
However, to reveal a “bare skin” face, people want to focus on promoting proper skincare. And, learning how to wash and care for the skin appropriately becomes the tending concern since then.
One of the most common problems of women, especially girls from tropical countries, is pores. With many subjective and objective factors, the unclogging pores cause pimples, blackheads, etc.
Understanding these problems, in this article, let’s discover the top 5 most effective remedies on how to unclog pores. Let’s start!
How to Unclog Pores – 5 Best Remedies?
Charcoal Masks
The first “candidate” on the list is charcoal masks. Originated from charcoal, these masks work well to remove impurities, kill bacteria, and draw sebums, oils, and dirt out of pores.
Many ingredients are used for making masks, but charcoal has been proved by research to have real effects in taking away toxins, oil, and pollution caused by the environment that triggers the pores to create blackheads and red spots.
Hence, the charcoal mask is helpful in not only unclogging pores but also preventing pimples. The masks are available in various forms, from peel-off mask to wash-away “watery” mask. However, the effect of charcoal mask on unclogging pores only lasts for a short term, so we recommend you to try this remedy at least once a week, but no more than three times a week because it can dehydrate the skin either.
Here is the procedure of using a charcoal mask properly: first, dip a cotton swab into makeup removal liquid to remove all makeup and dirt. Then, wash your face with a facial cleanser carefully. Rinse the face with a soft towel and sterilize hands.
Consequently, apply the charcoal mask directly onto your face. Please wait for 5 to 15 minutes based on the product’s guidelines and remove it after that period. Wash the face with fresh tap water, apply toner and moisturizer to “lock” the moisture.
Clay Mask
Like charcoal masks, clay masks can remove oil, sebum, dirt, and dead skin cells inside your pores, giving you back the white, fresh, healthy, glowy skin.
To be specific, clay masks contain small polygonal cells that absorb all dirt, oil, and blackhead factors that reside deep inside your pores. The pores are “free” to metabolize and consume nutrition from skincare products by removing these components. Besides, by unclogging pores, the clay mask helps the pores look smaller, which is great for preventing dehydration.
However, it would help if you only used clay masks about 1 to 2 times a week. If used appropriately, the masks can remove dirt and unclog pores, but overusing will cause the regression in feather nag and dehydration.
Another point to remember is that you should not use the clay mask on the same day with exfoliation. After exfoliating, your skin is extremely fragile and dry, so using a clay mask to suck out sebum and oil makes your skin more dehydrating and weak.
Retinoids
No need to introduce more about the retinoids, because if you are a skincare-holic, you must have heard about this “magical” product, right? Retinoids have been used widely by beauty experts and doctors because of their impressive influence on skincare.
What makes retinoids so effective in unclogging the pores? Well, it must come from its ability to build collagen. Retinoids stimulate and enhance the speed of producing collagen – factor maintains the plump skin that most over-30 women lack.
Given that fact, retinoids boost collagen production to build up the pores’ walls and minimize the pore’s size. Besides, the product helps tighten the skin, meaning it is harder for the dirt to get inside.
In addition, our skin naturally has the mechanism of producing oil (called “sebum”), which prevents outside factors from getting inside the skin. Consequently, that system avoids dirt from entering the skin but accidentally clogs the pores and creates blackheads or whiteheads. Retinoids prevent natural oil production inside pores, reducing the chances of creating blackheads and whiteheads under your skin.
Like any chemical substance, we must use retinoids with consideration. It is made by combining chemical mixtures, so it’s not friendly to the body as well. It would be best to ask for instruction and guidance from doctors before applying retinoids on your face to avoid any side effects.
Finally, we want to remind you that retinoids are not suitable for pregnant and breastfeeding women because their chemical elements can affect the baby’s health. Babies under three years old should not interact with any form of medical treatment.
Pore Strips
Pore strips were the original “top 1” product to unclog pores besides streaming. With the invention of other skincare methods, people usually ignore pore strips because it seems not too effective. However, in fact, they still work well on removing environmental causes to clogging pores.
Pore strips’ mechanism is that its adherent cells bond together to form a magnetic force to suck out all dirt and oil residing deep inside the pores. Sometimes, the strips remove hair, bacteria, and dead skin because of its stickiness and adhesiveness.
To use pore strips to unclog pores effectively, you must wash your face carefully with a facial cleanser first. This step is essential because it softens your skin and opens the pores. Please remember to rinse your face slightly, but still keep it damp enough to stick the strips.
Consequently, wet the pore strips and carefully place them on your face. Leave the strips sit out for 10 minutes or until you can feel them hard. Then, peel the strips off your skin. Wash your face with fresh water again to ensure no residue from the strip remains.
This technique is effective in unclogging pores; however, it only leaves temporary effects, so please do it again after a week. People with allergies or any dermatological diseases should not use this remedy.
Steaming
We have discussed the chemical approach; why not come back to the oldest, “ancient” method that was well used by the ancestors hundreds of years ago – steaming?
The steaming procedure is simple: first, you store water in a professional skin steamer. Then, please turn on the machine, wait for it to warm up. Next, pick up the steamer, let it fuse hot moist onto your face. Try to keep the steamer 1 meter away from the skin.
Overall, this process urges the pores to open and enlarge, removing all dirt and sebum, as well as using the heat to kill bacterias.
If you go to the professional salon to do this treatment, the technician might apply advanced products like masks and serum to intensively heal your skin. However, if you choose to do it at home by yourself without those advanced steps, the steaming process is still advisable because it is the way to “detox” the skin from harmful factors. The body needs detox, and so does the skin.
In case you cannot afford a steamer machine, then using the “basic” steaming technique with a basin, a big towel, and hot water is still acceptable.
The procedure is more than simple: first, boil the water until it starts steaming. Quickly pour that steaming water into the basin. The next step is to coat the towel over your head, then bend down to the basin, face the steaming water, and cover the top of the basin with that towel.
In other words, “coat” the basin with a towel so that the steam won’t evaporate, then use the deposited steam to heat the pores and urge it to enlarge.
Conclusion
Through this article, we have discussed how to unclog pores through 5 techniques. Based on our experience, the top 5 above are methods that work well and leave the fastest influence overall. However, the result of these remedies may be diverse according to each person’s skin and health status, so please don’t be frustrated if not having an immediate effect, as we mentioned above.
We prefer the steaming technique because it is natural, cheap, and easy to conduct at home. The steaming method is great for detoxing for your health in general, not just for skincare to add-in.
Are these insights helpful for your skin caring journey? We hope that our recommendation is informative for treating your unclog pores!
