Share your blackhead tips...

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DD is having a terrible time with blackheads on her forehead

She's 15 and suffers with a greasy t zone. She doesn't wear make up at all.

We've tried gentle daily exfoliators, face washes, tea tree cleansers, face masks etc but nothing seems to work.

Tonight she's rubbed lemon and honey on her forehead. It was a tip from Pinterest. Her forehead now looks worse than ever (bright red patches) but we're hoping it settles down over night.

She has a squeezing session now and again and even lets me have a go but I'm worried that we're just aggravating her skin.

Can anyone provide a good way of dealing with them?

Blackheads have to come out so I'd get a remover tool from Body Shop then she/you won't cause damage with fingernails.
I had a great success with the Murad range for acne and blemishes. I saw results within a week but stick with it religiously for 4 weeks and use nothing else and the difference in skin is amazing.
I actually only used it for a couple of months and ever since have used various (cheaper) brands and my skin has never flared up again.
The key thing is a product with glycolic acid in as it speeds up cell turnover and renewal so the blackheads are whisked away as soon as they form.
So ideally - a face wash with salicyclic acid followed by a gel or cream with glycolic acid. You can moisturise after this with jojoba oil (Holland & Barratt) as it doesn't block pores. The Murad set covers all these but you can do it cheaper by shopping around.

Also, despite all warnings, most people can't resist a squeeze. Instead buy a tool for the job (boots). It's a metal stick with a loop at either end, which, when pressed around the blackhead, does the squeezing job with minimal damage/scarring to the skin. You'll find it with the makeup brushes etc and its less than a fiver. Transformed my life. It's what they use in salons

Thanks for your replies.

I'll have a look for one of those tools (I'm hoping she lets me use it on her - I love anything like that)

Have you tried the oil cleansing method? Helped me loads. I don't do the highly technical version (with balances of different oils etc). I just massage in some almond oil, remove with warm or hot wet muslin.

If it suits her skin I think she'll notice big differences after a week or so.

Has she tried Duac? It's a combination of benzoyl peroxide and a topical antibiotic and has really helped my skin together with using the microdermabrasion cloth recommended on here from Bravura.

My girls have had success with the neutrogena range of cleansers -and me squeezing them out with tweezers

Have you tried having her come off milk?

And also, have her come off sugar?

Then visit the acne.org website and see what they suggest: I find their site very informative. The 5% peroxide cream is a godsend.

If none of that works, consider putting her on the pill. In the end Cileste was the only thing that stopped my cystic acne. (Don't let them put her on dianette: it made my boobs and hips massive, and isn't intended for long term use.)

Ikea I might ask the doctor about Duac. She's been asking me to make her a doctors appointment but I've been putting it off, hoping other methods would do through trick.

I get the most awful skin if I have too much sugar, I think diet is linked to skin.

I have one of those tools too, it's brilliant.

Retin A worked for me, benzoyl peroxide makes me worse too but you've got to try it to find out.