14 replies to this topic

[mike250]

Does anybody know of a good way to get rid of, or at least minimize the appearance of blackheads on the skin?. I have plenty of them on my nose and they're quite annoying. Would the hydroxy acids (AHA and BHA) be of any use?

[missminni]

Does anybody know of a good way to get rid of, or at least minimize the appearance of blackheads on the skin?. I have plenty of them on my nose and they're quite annoying. Would the hydroxy acids (AHA and BHA) be of any use?

I think you might find an answer here

[Fredrik]

Does anybody know of a good way to get rid of, or at least minimize the appearance of blackheads on the skin?. I have plenty of them on my nose and they're quite annoying. Would the hydroxy acids (AHA and BHA) be of any use?

Salicylic acid is lipophilic and will penetrate the hair follicle. Glycolic acid (AHA) is water soluble and will not remove debris from inside your pores efficiently. AHA will remove dead skin though so sebum can flow a bit more freely. Both can be beneficial but salicylic is the better one against blackheads.

The most comedolytic (pore-dissolving) molecule known to date is the psoriasis and acne topical retinoid tazarotene. It is more comedolytic than tretinoin, salicylic acid, mandelic and other acids. It will clean pores from the inside out by increasing turnover and changing the "stickiness" and clinging nature of cells so they will shed and expel the plug of hardened sebum.

Anecdotal: I apply taz two times a day on my nose, sides of my nose and the middle of my forehead. This is the only thing that I´ve tried that has actually minimized the look of pores in those areas.

Using topical antioxidants will also prevent some oxidation (darkening) of your clogged sebum. Ascorbic acid is good at this.

[missminni]

I just tried curshed aspirin and mixed it with a little cod liver oil (I read about both of them on that forum I linked above, and combined them together figuring if they both work they might work even better together) and it worked great! I'm so surprised.
crush the aspirin and rub it on your nose with a little cod liver oil and leave it on for about 10 minutes.
I've never found anything that worked so well before. Who would have
thought it could be so easy?

Edited by missminni, 14 January 2008 - 12:48 AM.

[mike250]

thanks for both your replies. I'll be paying my dermatologist a visit to get a hold of the tazarotene.

Fredrik, would the salicylic acid be better bought off on its own or would other things like coconut oil/ olive oil be useful in a mix of the two?


Missminni, the link you gave me doesn't seem to work. isn't working for you?

Edited by mike250, 14 January 2008 - 03:22 AM.

[missminni]

thanks for both your replies. I'll be paying my dermatologist a visit to get a hold of the tazarotene.

Fredrik, would the salicylic acid be better bought off on its own or would other things like coconut oil/ olive oil be useful in a mix of the two?


Missminni, the link you gave me doesn't seem to work. isn't working for you?

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=10775
It works for me. I don't know why it didn't work for you. I actually tried their advice and mixed
two things that were suggested separately that seemed to get a high recommendation....cod liver oil and aspirin.
It cleared up the blackheads considerably within a few minutes. The pores are still large, but not black anymore.
I did it twice, leaving it on the second time for over an hour. It really helped.
I imagine continuing to do it will keep the pores clean and maybe they will shrink in size eventually.
What I did was put a little cod liver oil on my nose, then
crush a few aspirins and rub the powder onto my nose on top of the oil. The pores are till visible,
but they don't have that little black dot part anymore.
The first time I tried it I just used aspirin with a little water and rubbed it in. The second time I used the cod liver oil and aspirin.
Both times I noticed an improvement. If the link doesn't work, try to google nose blackhead removal or some variation thereof and a few forums about DIY skincare pop up.
this link below had DIY skincare recipes ....
http://www.essential...ad.php?tid=5981

[missminni]

Update:
The aspirin and cod liver oil combo are amazing. They really work. I did it a few times
now and the blackheads are gone completely, and my pores are much less noticeable.
I have RetinA .10% and have used it for years.
The aspirin/codliver works much better and much less expensive too. If you leave it on overnight, you
get a kind of skin peel from it...even more so then with RetinA. It also has an abrasive action if you rub it
in. It's like dermabrasion and RetinA all in one. Save yourself the expense of getting a prescription and the
exorbitant price of RetinA, and use a generic aspirin and cod liver oil. You will not be disappointed.

[Fredrik]

thanks for both your replies. I'll be paying my dermatologist a visit to get a hold of the tazarotene.

Fredrik, would the salicylic acid be better bought off on its own or would other things like coconut oil/ olive oil be useful in a mix of the two?


Missminni, the link you gave me doesn't seem to work. isn't working for you?

coconut oil is potentially comedogenic so I wouldn´t use that. People react to different things. As a general rule, oily skins should avoid oils and heavy cream formulations. I find it to be a trial and error thing. Moisturisers that seem to be ok by the ingredients list can result in bumps on my forehead in no time. I don´t believe it´s really clogged pores, more like a sensitivity reaction.

I´d use salicylic acid in a toner or cleanser with a pH of no more than 3.

Edited by fredrik, 16 January 2008 - 06:10 PM.

[ajnast4r]

tazorac has really helped my blackheads.. my face is more clear now than it ever has been.

[luminous]

http://www.clarisonic.com/

This works for me. Awesome product. Keeps blackheads at bay.

[Eva Victoria]

Fredrik is right!!!
But there is Azelaic Acid 20% Rx only (Skinoren UE; AZELEX^® US).

[Grail]

Update:
The aspirin and cod liver oil combo are amazing. They really work. I did it a few times
now and the blackheads are gone completely, and my pores are much less noticeable.
I have RetinA .10% and have used it for years.
The aspirin/codliver works much better and much less expensive too. If you leave it on overnight, you
get a kind of skin peel from it...even more so then with RetinA. It also has an abrasive action if you rub it
in. It's like dermabrasion and RetinA all in one. Save yourself the expense of getting a prescription and the
exorbitant price of RetinA, and use a generic aspirin and cod liver oil. You will not be disappointed.

Cod liver oil is awful smelling...how can you bear putting it on your nose every day? What does your partner think? Bet you don't get any kisses
I'll try the aspirin though, it's cheap, and if it gets results, great.

[missminni]

Update:
The aspirin and cod liver oil combo are amazing. They really work. I did it a few times
now and the blackheads are gone completely, and my pores are much less noticeable.
I have RetinA .10% and have used it for years.
The aspirin/codliver works much better and much less expensive too. If you leave it on overnight, you
get a kind of skin peel from it...even more so then with RetinA. It also has an abrasive action if you rub it
in. It's like dermabrasion and RetinA all in one. Save yourself the expense of getting a prescription and the
exorbitant price of RetinA, and use a generic aspirin and cod liver oil. You will not be disappointed.

Cod liver oil is awful smelling...how can you bear putting it on your nose every day? What does your partner think? Bet you don't get any kisses
I'll try the aspirin though, it's cheap, and if it gets results, great.

The cod liver oil I used didn't smell, however after using it a few more times I got the worst reaction to it. I don't know what happened, but I cannot put codliver oil on my skin now without breaking out in a terrible rash. The aspirin is very harsh. Don't leave it on too long. Just 5 minutes
and then rinse it off. I learned the hard way. Do it once a week, not every day.

[Grail]

Thanks for the tips
See how we go I guess. Do you have a daily skin-care regime?

[luminous]

Update:
The aspirin and cod liver oil combo are amazing. They really work. I did it a few times
now and the blackheads are gone completely, and my pores are much less noticeable.
I have RetinA .10% and have used it for years.
The aspirin/codliver works much better and much less expensive too. If you leave it on overnight, you
get a kind of skin peel from it...even more so then with RetinA. It also has an abrasive action if you rub it
in. It's like dermabrasion and RetinA all in one. Save yourself the expense of getting a prescription and the
exorbitant price of RetinA, and use a generic aspirin and cod liver oil. You will not be disappointed.

Cod liver oil is awful smelling...how can you bear putting it on your nose every day? What does your partner think? Bet you don't get any kisses
I'll try the aspirin though, it's cheap, and if it gets results, great.

The cod liver oil I used didn't smell, however after using it a few more times I got the worst reaction to it. I don't know what happened, but I cannot put codliver oil on my skin now without breaking out in a terrible rash. The aspirin is very harsh. Don't leave it on too long. Just 5 minutes
and then rinse it off. I learned the hard way. Do it once a week, not every day.

Both my daughter and I mix aspirin with aloe vera to make an aspirin mask. We leave it on 5-10 minutes and rinse. It works amazingly well. If you check out the product reviews at makeupalley.com, the aspirin mask is one of the highest-rated "products". With over 1200 reviews and an average rating of 4.3 out of 5, people truly think it does wonders for oily skin, blackheads and acne. It's best to buy the cheapest aspirin, the kind with no coating on the tablet. That way, the aspirin dissolves quite easily.