Dealing with Blackheads
Blackheads, not a pretty conversation topic are they but if your skin is anything like mine you will know how important it is to keep on top of them. Since being a teen I've always suffered with quite bad blackheads, my nose and chin are my real problem areas. Although I don't think there is a way to ever completely get rid of them but here is a little formula that I've found works well to keep on top of them.
The cause of blackheads are excess oil production, this oil then mixes with dead skin cells and once exposed to the air turns black. Lovely eh? As my skin type does lean towards the more side of proceedings I like to make sure I try and keep it as balanced as I can with the cleansers I use and especially a cleansing mask. My current favourite is the Aesop Parsley Seed Masque, I find this draws all the nasties to the surface of my skin without being drying or stripping. After a good 20 minutes I wipe this away with a damp flannel and I can see that my pores look so much clearer but I'm never left with a face full of spots after using this.
My skins one true love is salicylic acid, it can't get enough of this stuff. Throughout my teens I went through bottle after bottle of the Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Cleanser but as soon as I start to really get into beauty it got tossed to the side. After seeing this blog post on it I decided to give it another go and I'm so happy I did. Even though it does contain alcohol and perfume I don't find it irritates my skin at all and just leaves me with a clearer and smoother complexion, especially when paired with something hydrating afterwards. Of course when I'm writing a post like this I have to mention the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo +, although it isn't targeted towards treating blackheads I think it helps. I've been using this for nearly two years now and it has made a huge difference to the clarity and appearance of my skin.
How do you keep on top of blackheads?
