Why you shouldn't squeeze out blackheads

What are blackheads and the reasons for their formation

Small dark spots are called comedones. They appear due to blockage of the sebaceous glands. Popularly these formations are called acne.

Comedones are impurities that form in the pores on the nose. Penetrating deeply, skin secretions mix with cosmetics, dust and form a compaction.

Cleansing foam and crabs are almost powerless in this situation. Then how to get rid of blackheads on the nose? First of all, it is necessary to determine the reason for their appearance.

Improper skin care . Makeup should always be washed off at night and your pores should be cleaned regularly.
Poor quality cosmetics . Cheap products provoke the production of sebum, which clogs the pores.
Oily skin . With this type, a large amount of fat is produced, which settles on the skin and clogs the pores.
Hormonal disorders . They occur most often in adolescence, during pregnancy and lactation, during menopause or with long-term use of birth control pills.
Problems with the digestive system . Due to disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, toxins are actively produced, which appear on the skin in the form of black dots.
Poor nutrition . Comedones can form if you eat fatty and spicy foods every day.
Smoking and drinking alcohol.
Hereditary factor . If parents suffer from blackheads, then it is likely that their children will inherit the problem.

A lifestyle analysis or medical examination will help identify the cause of comedones. This way you can get rid of them and normalize the activity of the sebaceous glands.

This process can take a long time, so at the same time you need to think about how to remove blackheads. There are many ways - both salon and home.

Cleansing strips against blackheads on the nose

For the convenience and speed of eliminating acne on the nose, cosmetic manufacturers have developed special cleansing products - nasal strips, the action of which is aimed at clearing clogged pores, reducing inflammation, and narrowing pores.

Many cosmetic companies have such cleansing strips in their sales line.

The most popular of them: “Propeller”, “Nivea”, “Via Beauty”, “L'Etoile” . You can choose the best product for yourself from a huge list, but you just need to understand that the cheaper the strips, the less effective they are.

The cleaning strip consists of 2 sides: one is smooth and the other is sticky. Manufacturers apply special compounds , which draw dirt out of the pores and remove blackheads.

No need to skimp on cleaning strips. Cheap options do not contain absorbent components that normalize the functioning of the sebaceous glands.

To prevent oily skin and enlarged pores, you need to clean with high-quality, expensive strips .

Cosmetic procedures

How to remove blackheads on the nose in a salon ? There are many ways that can get rid of such a defect for a long time.

Particularly popular are:

Mechanical cleaning . This is a very effective, but rather painful procedure. It involves preliminary steaming the face with a hot chamomile decoction, which softens and disinfects the skin. Next, the cosmetologist cleans the pores with a special spatula, manually squeezing out the blackheads.
Vacuum cleaning . A special tube is used. A reduced pressure is created inside it, with the help of which the plugs are sucked out of the steamed pores. Vacuum cleaning is not as painful as mechanical cleaning. Its advantage is that it cleans hard-to-reach places.
Ultrasonic cleaning . This procedure takes place in the form of light peeling of the skin, application of a special gel and ultrasonic treatment of the face. Thus, the top layer of the epidermis is removed and the process of skin renewal begins.
Chemical peeling . This procedure uses fruit acids that can dissolve blackheads and deeply cleanse pores.

Before performing any salon procedure, the patient undergoes an examination by a cosmetologist, and the characteristics of the skin are studied. After this, the most effective way to get rid of comedones is selected.

The choice also depends on the price . If the cost seems too high, then you can clean the pores yourself.

Pros and cons of anti-acne strips

The advantages of this method of removing blackheads include:

ease of use,
high degree of effectiveness even when purchasing a budget version of the patch,
a cheap way of cleansing compared to salon cleansing procedures,
excellent prevention against acne on the nose,
availability of purchase - you can purchase these strips both at the pharmacy and at any store that sells various cosmetics.

But these strips also have disadvantages :

some patches have an aggressive effect on the epidermis, as a result of which the skin after the procedure becomes reddened and begins to peel off,
cheap strips, if handled carelessly, can simply tear after application,
There are strips that do not stick well to the nose due to poor adhesive.

Cosmetic procedures for acne removal

When asked about self-removal of acne, any dermatologist will answer negatively. Doctors proceed from the fact that patients cannot always ensure the necessary cleanliness of their hands and instruments used.

Inaccurate squeezing can lead to inflammation and leave a scar on the skin. To prevent this from happening, doctors recommend the following cosmetic procedures:

Mechanical cleaning. Performed by a dermatologist in a cosmetology office. During this procedure, the doctor removes sebaceous plugs using a special instrument - a Vidal loop or a Uno spoon. The skin is pre-cleansed, disinfected and slightly steamed. The doctor removes acne using a cosmetic instrument. Then a soothing composition is applied to the skin, and after washing it off, disinfectant powder is applied. The procedure is traumatic, but with its help you can get rid of a large number of acne in one session.
Ultrasound cleaning. A more gentle option. First, a light peeling is applied to the face and the face is gently massaged. The drug is removed and a device is passed over the skin, which delivers ultrasonic pulses and pushes the impurities out. After the procedure, a soothing mask is first applied to the face, and after removing it, lotion and cream are applied according to your skin type. All acne will not go away in one go, but after several procedures the effect will be more noticeable.

READ ALSO: Proven folk remedies for blackheads

These methods are the most optimal for removing acne, since thanks to the professionalism of the dermatologist, the risk of injuring the skin is lower than with independent manipulation.

Video about blackhead removal

Thus, it is better to remove acne in a dermatology office to prevent the development of complications. If we are talking about several blackheads, then you can squeeze them out yourself, while not forgetting about the rules of disinfection.

Possible consequences

Even using a tool to squeeze out blackheads, you can identify some side effects from the procedure:

Long period of restoration of skin condition. The redness goes away in 4–10 days.
Possible infection of the wound.
Injury to the epidermis, formation of scars.
Do not use decorative cosmetics to disguise the marks of cleaning.

But these consequences can be avoided if comedones are squeezed out correctly.

Cleansing from blackheads at home

If cleaning is carried out at home , then a natural question arises whether it is possible to squeeze out blackheads on the nose. This can be done if you maintain good hygiene.

The first step is to clean and degrease your nose using cleansing foam and scrub . Then you need to prepare a steam bath for steaming. It is enough to make a decoction of herbs - chamomile, linden, yarrow, etc.

It will be useful to add a little sea salt to the broth . It expands pores well and saturates the skin with microelements.

Next, you need to tilt your face over the hot broth and cover your head with a towel.

Don't bend too low, as this can cause thermal burns. You need to sit in this position for 10-15 minutes.

Then you can start squeezing out comedones.

So, how to properly crush blackheads at home? Before the procedure, hands should be washed and disinfected well . It will be great if you wrap your fingers in a gauze bandage.

On steamed skin, blackheads are easily squeezed out. The comedone should be lightly pressed on both sides, after which the sebaceous plug will come out. You need to press with your fingertips, not your nails . Otherwise, you may damage your skin.

At the end of the procedure for cleansing the skin of the nose, you need to narrow the pores. For this purpose, it must be wiped with lotion or tonic .

You can use a mask to tighten pores . It is prepared from ordinary products - soda, gelatin, lemon juice, egg white and oatmeal.

Masks made from activated carbon and cosmetic clay perfectly tighten the skin. After the mask, be sure to apply moisturizer to the skin.

When cleansing your skin of blackheads at home, you must follow simple sanitation rules . Their violation can lead to infection and, accordingly, further formation of acne.

Therefore, before the procedure, you need to consult with a cosmetologist and find out how often and with what you can squeeze out comedones.

Contraindications

In some situations, it is prohibited to carry out salon or home therapy for blackheads on the nose . This happens if:

blood vessels are dilated;
there are skin damage - burns, cuts, abrasions;
there are a lot of boils and pimples.

In these cases, the procedure can spread the infection throughout the face and complicate the situation. The appearance of new comedones can be controlled using cleansing masks and light scrubs .

Alternative option

Try using cleansing patches - they are stuck on the nose, including the wings, left for a certain time and then quickly removed. Can't find these strips for sale? We make them ourselves from a teaspoon of gelatin and a tablespoon of milk. Mix the ingredients and place in a water bath. Gelatin should dissolve completely. Cool the mixture and apply to the problem area (do not forget that the skin should be steamed by this time). Remove the mask after drying. You will see black dots on the film you shot. This is what you were going to squeeze out.

To push or not to push?

Black dots appear when the pores of the skin become clogged with products from overactive sebaceous glands, microparticles of the old epidermis, and remnants of poorly washed off cosmetics and dust. Moreover, the visible part of this plug, in contact with oxygen, oxidizes and darkens, marking each clogged pore with a dark spot (an open comedone). You can fight them in three ways:

global - visit a cosmetologist, find out what the skin lacks for normal well-being, perform the recommended procedures, review your lifestyle, nutrition and principles of self-care in order to strike a blow to comedones from the inside;
camouflage - use hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice and other components of homemade masks to lighten the upper part of the sebaceous plug and make it less noticeable;
mechanical - that is, simply squeeze it out.

White clay, peroxide or lemon will lighten comedones and help remove them from the pores

The first and second methods are relatively safe, unless you entrust the care of your face to the first beauty salon worker you come across without special education and do not overdo it with masks.

The third is fraught with injured skin, infections and the appearance of blooming purple boils in place of modest spots.

But if you cannot seek professional help at the moment, and your face really demands that it be put in order, mechanical cleaning at home is still allowed. However:

only as an exception, and not as a regular procedure;
in compliance with the correct technology and all safety measures.

If you approach the matter responsibly and know when to stop, problems usually do not arise.

Squeezing out blackheads is allowed no more than once a month.

It seems that the nose is a very convenient place to deal with blackheads.

Here it is much more convenient to push comedones to the surface by pinching the skin on both sides of the pore than, for example, on the cheeks or in the lip area.

Lips, by the way, are also areas with very thin skin, which aggressive finger movements can stretch and nails can injure. But that’s probably where the advantages of the nose end.

Squeezing out comedones on the nose is more convenient, but inflammation often occurs.

The disadvantages are the abundance of nerve endings, which if pressed down, you are guaranteed to give yourself very unpleasant sensations.

And the skin of the nose, despite its apparent density, is easily susceptible to injury, so even such a simple procedure as squeezing can leave a scar on it.

And if you do happen to get an infection in your pores, an inflamed pimple swollen on your nose will be noticeable to everyone around you.

Advice: if you are planning to cleanse your skin of blackheads, do it on Saturday or in the morning on Sunday so that you can be at home and not scare others with a purple nose while your face returns to normal.

It seems that every person has tried to squeeze out open comedones with their fingers at least once in their life. By and large, this method copes with the task quite well and therefore has a right to exist. The only condition is not to take it lightly. You can’t walk past a mirror and stop for a minute and start cleaning your face! Required:

remove makeup, wash and steam the skin with a steam bath or compress from a towel soaked in hot water;
wipe your face and hands with a disinfectant liquid such as chlorhexidine or calendula tincture;
It is very advisable to wrap your fingers in a sterile napkin or bandage, which, firstly, will serve the cause of hygiene, and secondly, will protect the skin from the nails.

And then everything is elementary: press the pads of your fingers to your nose on both sides of the black dot and begin to press until the plug with the dark head is on the surface. Remove it, and at the end of the procedure, disinfect the skin again.

Those who believe that their fingers are not able to cope with cleaning efficiently use a variety of tools, both made from improvised means and special ones.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with Urticaria in a child: what it is, symptoms, causes, treatment, signs. Blisters on a child's body Redness and blisters on a child's skin

Pen refill

Turn a disassembled writing pen into a vacuum pump to clean out your pores? Why not! To do this, wipe the rod with alcohol, turn the writing side away from you, press it to the steamed skin exactly above the blackhead and slowly press. If everything is done correctly, the sebaceous plug easily slides out of the pore.

It is more convenient to use the rod on the back and shoulders than on the face

The method is quite controversial. I never managed to master it, despite three disassembled pens with rods of different diameters - the black dots stubbornly ignored all my attempts. But who knows, maybe the comedones will submit to the rod in your hands?

Matches

The idea is simple: squeeze out comedones by pressing on the nose heated with a hot towel, not with your fingers, but with two matches held in your hands. The pressure turns out to be more directed, almost point-like, and the effect of the procedure increases.

And this is where I failed. Poking your own nose with the clean ends of matches was painful, and with heads of sulfur it was scary (you never know, maybe particles of sulfur would remain in the pores). In a word, matches turned out to be ineffective against fingers. At least for me.

Dental floss

The bright idea of getting comedones out of your pores by scraping your nose with dental floss on a plastic holder first came to the mind of a girl blogger from California and has been going around the world ever since.

Removing blackheads occurs as follows: take a steam bath for the face to open the pores and soften the sebum, then press the thread tightly to the bridge of the nose and with moderate pressure lead to the tip of the nose.

All the sebaceous plugs encountered along the way pop out on their own.

Move the thread smoothly, in one motion, without staying in one place for too long

This time the experience was more successful and the pores were partially cleared. But I still remained committed to the “finger method”. I think it works cleaner.

Tweezers

By itself, it is useless for squeezing out blackheads, but some people manage to make the cleaning deeper by grabbing the head of a plug partially squeezed out with another tool with tweezers and pulling it out entirely.

But the advice to rub your nose with a toothbrush to remove sebum from clogged channels, which is often found on the Internet, is rather harmful. This way, you are much more likely to get scratches and visible spider veins than to get rid of comedones.

The modern cosmetics industry suggests using not only tonics, patches and masks, but also devices for mechanical facial cleansing to combat comedones.

Most often, they look like a rod, at one end of which a kind of “spoon” with holes is attached, and at the other - a loop or needle.

By pressing one or the other tip on the skin in the area of the comedone, it is squeezed out to the surface almost entirely.

The metal loop is more effective than thread, fingers and tweezers