How do you get rid of blackheads??

[PintOfJohnSmiths]

I have loads, especially around my nose, chin and forehead, they are pissing me off big time!

Ive been using this T-Zone facial scrub at night and haven't wore foundation for a week, i can feel them when i run my finger over my skin its all bumpy and rough

How the fuck do you get rid of them??

I have a massive one on my back-it's been there for centuries and my OH refuses to tackle it. It's under the skin as well so I don't know how to get it out. I get them on back of neck and where back of my bra is.

Chicken, my sister has one in the same place and her Dh refuse to do it for her too! I only see her every 4 years or so and within half an hour she's whipped her top up and is asking me to do it for her

DP had one on his neck, i spent a good 30-40 minutes squeezing it before he made me stop, id have been there all day if he'd let me!

Is it wrong that I'm itching to get at your back Chicken?

Institution- me too

After watching Springwatch last week, may I ask you please please PLEASE not to use any scrubs containing microbeads! They go down the sink, they can't be filtered and they go into waterways and the sea, where they are ingested by all sorts of animals, right down to tiny little plankton. Plastic never goes away, just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. We don't know what the long term effects of this will be, but we need to stop scrubbing with anything containing plastic beads.

In any case, other methods such as oil cleansing, using a flannel, and chemical exfoliants are more effective. I'm sure the Korean acid/clay/oil method described above has reduced my sebaceous filaments quite a bit just from one session.

I thought they were caused by your hormones? Mine vanished literally overnight during my first pregnancy then came back with a vengeance

I second the nose strips. I pick them up in the supermarket. They are always on the top shelf and really hard to reach. But they are very satisfying. I used to get them but hardly have had any since kids. Or maybe they are there but i get very little mirror time these days!

I have a blackhead right on my upper lip line, any suggestions?

Love - good old steam with a hot flannel and a gentle prod with a sterilised needle

the only time I have had zero blackheads was when I was vegan and drank no alcohol. Didn't last long :) but all my blackheads just disappeared like magic.

Now years later I still notice more after drinking, less if I don't drink alcohol for a while. I don't drink much these days but I do see a strong link.

No nose strips! even though they are v satisfying

As Titscrossed says right at the beginning, on your nose they are prob sebaceous filaments. They will come straight back again as fast as you squeeze them out.

For blackheads and sebaceous filaments the answer is the same:

Non-foaming cleanser such as Cetaphil. There is no point to fancy ingredients in a cleanser as it's in touch with your face for seconds. Ditto scrubby particles - at best they are scratching your face, they are not dissolving oil in your pores. And plastic beads are ruining the environment and killing fish.

Salicylic acid - this is the key step. It dissolves in oil and gets rid of the black gunk. Although it won't get rid of sebaceous filaments, it will get rid of blackheads and it will take the dark tops of the sebaceous filaments so they aren't obvious anymore. Paula's Choice 2% BHA is amazing (as suggested by violetbunny at the beginning). Clinique Mild Exfoliating Lotion is OK but not as effective, Clearasil pads are the budget option but can feel abrasive.

And if your skin is oily, don't put more oil on it, it doesn't need it and it doesn't stop it making more oil. Oil-free moisturiser and then only if you think you need a moisturiser.

Always have them round my lipline - i just squeeze them gently after I've had a shower and they normally come out. I don't understand the 'don't squeeze' advice - they're not going to come out on their own, and will just get bigger and blacker... UGH! I have them on my shoulders and forehead and round my nose too. I'm just so attractive...
Thought that turning 40 would help but if anything my skin is worse.

I squueze the blackheads but if you use a salicylic product you won't have any but not the sebaceous filaments on my nose as they will literally just be back in a couple of days time.

I've got one in the crease of my nose that is blue/black but isnt a proper blackhead. ...It's like the discolouration is around the edge of a pore but not inside it so squeezing does nothing. It's been months now and I'm so self consious

Crease of your nose prob is a sebaceous filament. Seriously check out a salicylic product, I had a filament on my nose mocking me for 25 years until the salicylic melted the yukky top off.

There really should be a blackhead dating thread. I'm sure some of you would love having a go at my ears and nose

can you link me to a cheap one? Thats Paula's wotsit is 58 quid!

Second the salicylic acid suggestion. My blackheads have disappeared with regular acid toning. My skin did go all peely to start with but I stuck with it and am thrilled with the results.

Cheap acid toner:

www.superdrug.com/Garnier/Garnier-Skin-Naturals-PureActive-Spot-Purifying-Toner-200ml/p/564203?gclid=CLerhq6T78UCFYeWtAod-1IAPw&gclsrc=aw.ds

PP who have said they have a large blackhead on their back, PLEASE get it seen to. I had one of these and it got worse and worse until it turned into a sebaceous cyst which has required several courses of antibiotics and has had to be drained twice (v painful).

Sorry to scaremonger but it's best to nip these things in the bud.

will it do the job if it's not a proper blackhead but black stuff caught just under the skin? (much probing with a needle revealed its like an open pore with a rim of black ick. About half a mm across)
If it finally does go I will love you all for ever

Cheap - Clearasil pads
Not cheap - Clinique Mild Exfoliating Lotion

Don't know where you saw £58 for the Paula's Choice - one I used was £23.50 and lasted about 9 months using twice a day.

www.paulaschoice.co.uk/shop/skin-care/exfoliants

Currently have the Clinique, was slightly less money, nowhere near as good and won't last as long.

Thclock I can't promise it will but the salicylic dissolves in oil so get right down in the gunk, give it a try!

Not glam, but the cheapest and purest way of using salicylic acid is dispersible aspirin (aspirin is salicylic acid). I disolve half a tab and paint it on after washing my face with warn water and sensitive face wash. I leave it on to dry. I did it everyday for a week at first and now do it about twice a week. The difference is as good as the prescription creams I have used in the past. Bonus for me is it is safe to use in pregnancy when my skin goes horrible.