Table of Contents
- What Are Clogged Pores?
- What Causes Clogged Pores?
- Night-Time Clogged Pores Skincare Routine.
- Weekend Skincare Routine.
- How To Prevent Clogged Pores.
- 1. Have A Daily Skincare Routine.
- 2. Ensure Your Skincare Products Are Labeled “Noncomedogenic” or “Won’t Clog Pores”.
- 3. Always Remove Your Makeup At The End Of The Day.
- 4. Exfoliate Regularly (But Don’t Over-exfoliate).
- 5. Avoid Touching Your Face.
- In Conclusion
Let me guess, you stared at the mirror, you noticed your skin pores appear clogged, with some tiny flesh-toned bumps scattered all over your face, which could be whiteheads or blackheads. And you’re wondering, what could trigger these? Well pore clogging impurities did.
Overproduction of sebum (oil), accompanied with dirt and dead skin cells stuck in-between the pores triggers clogged pores. Which leads to flesh-toned bumps suchlike blackheads, whiteheads and acne breakouts.
If you’re on this page, definitely you’re seeking for a lasting solution to put an end to your predicament. Well, this page holds all the information you need as regards to clogged pores. In fact, you’re about to be exposed to the best clogged pores skincare routine using the best suitable skincare products to put an end to blackheads, whiteheads and acne breakouts on your skin. But before we plunge into that, let’s know what clogged pores are, and what really causes it.
What Are Clogged Pores?
Clogged pores appear as enlarged visible pores, alongside tiny flesh-toned bumps scattered all over the face, more especially on the forehead and nose area. It could be whiteheads (bumps with white pus at the tip), or could be blackheads (bumps with black tip) or both.
What Causes Clogged Pores?
Clogged pores occur as a result of dead skin cells, oil and dirt trapped in the pores, which causes the skin pores to get inflamed and irritated which leads to whiteheads, blackheads and acne breakouts.
Moving ahead to the main deal, below is a night-time skincare routine for clogged pores. A dedicated partake of this skincare routine will definitely clear your pores of gunk and grime, thereby putting an end to breakouts and improving overall skin texture and complexion.
Night-Time Clogged Pores Skincare Routine.
Step 1: Cleanse.
ZapZyt Acne Wash Cleanser.
Starting your “night-time clogged pores skincare routine” with a cleanse shouldn’t be overemphasized. Of course everyone knows that before you apply any skincare product on your skin, you have to get that skin of yours cleansed first, using a skin-suitable cleanser. But when it comes to the appropriate cleanser for clogged pores, it’s a salicylic cleanser.
Salicylic acid is an beta hydroxy acid, derived from White willow (salix alba), which is known for its oil-soluble potentials which enables it cut through oil in the skin and penetrate deep into the skin pores to decongest it of dirt, oil, dead skin cells and other pore-clogging impurities. This makes salicylic acid a favorite ingredient to tackle clogged pores.
ZapZyt Acne Wash Cleanser contains 2% salicylic acid for deep pore decongestion and exfoliation, alongside with skin soothing ingredients, aloe vera and chamomile to help soothe the skin and reduce redness to avoid dryness and irritation associated with salicylic acid use. Read the full review here.
How To Cleanse.
Squeeze out a reasonable amount (careful not to squeeze out too much) a little goes a long way.
Gently massage it on your face for 60 seconds (1 minute), then rinse off.
Step 2: Hydrate.
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5.
Hyaluronic acid helps replenish skin of lost moisture, as it’s a humectant which pulls moisture from the atmosphere to hydrate skin surface. The more hydrated your skin, the less your pores will clog. Therefore while creating the best clogged pores skincare routine for yourself, your skin could need some shot of hyaluronic acid’s hydration.
The Ordinary hyaluronic acid serum also has Vitamin B5 in their formulation. Vitamin B5 also called pro-vitamin B5 helps to keep skin soft, smooth, and healthy by deeply hydrating the skin, to keep skin quenched by absorbing moisture from the air. It also has an anti-inflammatory effect that can help stimulate your skin’s healing processes. Read the full review here.
How To Apply.
Apply 4-5 drops of hyaluronic acid serum while your skin is damp, massage until fully absorbed.
Step 3: Treat.
Under this step, you’re going to use two skincare ingredients, niacinamide and salicylic acid. Niacinamide to help regulate excess oil production and salicylic acid to help unclog pores of pore-clogging impurities.
Niacinamide.
The Good Molecules Niacinamide Serum.
Niacinamide is a type of vitamin B3 and a water-soluble vitamin. It is a multi-tasking skincare ingredient. Why so? It’s simply because it doesn’t just offer a single benefit to the skin, but multiple, ranging from reducing redness, controlling excessive oil production, minimizing large pores, help treat acne, improving skin barrier function and overall skin tone which is very beneficial for all skin types but mostly for individuals with oily skin.
Its anti-inflammatory properties makes it very much beneficial to the skin as it helps strengthens skin barrier function by calming the skin and stimulating the skin’s natural production of beneficial fatty acids and ceramides which makes the skin receptive to salicylic acid in other to curtail inflammatory irritation associated with acid use.
The Good Molecules niacinamide serum contains 10% niacinamide in a lightweight formula to help refine skin texture and minimize pores for an overall improved skin texture and complexion. Read the full review here.
Salicylic Acid.
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution.
Salicylic acid being an BHA (beta hydroxy acid) is derived from White willow (salix alba). Due to its oil-soluble nature, salicylic acid cuts through oil (sebum) in the skin and penetrates deeper to unclog the pores of oil, dead skin cells, and other pore-clogging impurities and nasties stuck in-between the pores. This makes salicylic acid highly recommended if you’re looking to unclog pores and relieve it of congestion.
The Ordinary 2% Salicylic Acid Anhydrous Solution contains 2% salicylic acid in anhydrous (water-free) solution to help decongest the skin pores of pore-clogging impurities, tackling of blackheads, whiteheads and acne for a smoother and healthier skin. It also contains squalane oil to offer weightless hydration and nourishment to the skin.
How To Layer Them Together.
Apply 3-4 drops of Good Molecules niacinamide serum while you gently massage till fully absorbed. Move ahead to apply 2 drops of The Ordinary salicylic acid anhydrous solution, gently massage till fully absorbed.
Step 4: Moisturize.
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion.
Moisturizing the skin is a must in every skincare routine and should never be exempted.
Avoid moisturizers that can potentially clog your pores. Go for moisturizers labeled “non-comedogenic” or “won’t clog pores”.
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion contains the combination of 3 essential ceramides alongside hyaluronic acid to deliver intense moisture and hydration to the skin. Read comparison review between CeraVe & Cetaphil moisturizing lotion.
You can as well try the moisturizer from The Ordinary brand, as it contains humectants, emollients and occlusives to help enhance moisture retention in the skin by trapping in moisture which prevents moisture-loss thereby keeping the skin hydrated, plump and supple. If you’re not a fan of The Ordinary products (which is weird), you can as well try Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream — A moisture-rich moisturizer infused with a well-known humectant — hyaluronic acid, which is known to pull moisture from the atmosphere into the skin to keep it Intensely hydrated and moisturized.
Bear in mind, all aforementioned moisturizers are all non-comedogenic (won’t clog your pores) as they contain no pore-clogging ingredients.
How To Apply.
Squeeze out and apply a generous amount, massage till fully absorbed.
Weekend Skincare Routine.
Apply A Clay Or Charcoal Mask To Treat Clogged Pores.
Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Mask.
Incorporating a clay or charcoal mask is another rightful approach to get rid of clogged pores and improve your complexion.
Both clay and charcoal masks do the wonderful job of absorbing excess oil in the pores, removing dead skin cells and other pore-clogging impurities. And how does this work?
After the application of a clay or charcoal mask, you will feel your face tighten as the clay or charcoal mask dries. When this happens, it “soaks” up the skin’s natural oils and anything clogging the pores and draws it to the surface for eradication.
Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Mask is infused with natural earth white clay, alongside rich minerals to help absorb excess oil and detoxify skin. Thereby leaving the skin pores unclogged, relieved and refined.
How To Apply.
Scoop out a reasonable amount of the clay or charcoal mask to cover your entire face. Leave it on for as long as instructed by the brand. Wash it off after the mask must have stayed on the skin for due time.
How To Prevent Clogged Pores.
Now that you’ve absorbed all the information regarding how to get rid of clogged pores, it’s also very much important to learn measures to take to prevent its possible occurrence. You wouldn’t want to suffer the same fate twice right? So do the needful.
1. Have A Daily Skincare Routine.
By following a solid skincare routine just as aforementioned, your pores stay free from accumulations of sebum, dead skin cells, gunk and grime, which goes a long way to keeping the pores clean which definitely prevents the pores from getting clogged.
2. Ensure Your Skincare Products Are Labeled “Noncomedogenic” or “Won’t Clog Pores”.
This should be your first concern. Before purchasing any skincare product (which includes sunscreen and makeup products). Always ensure you physically screen the product yourself to see where it states “non-comedogenic” or “won’t clog pores“. This implies that the skincare product contains no pore-clogging ingredients or substances that could potentially clog the pores.
3. Always Remove Your Makeup At The End Of The Day.
It’s a gross thing to do by sleeping with your makeup on. Ewww!. That’s nasty.
Having your makeup on while you sleep won’t only stain your bedsheet and pillowcase, but worse trap makeup residue between the pores, which clogs the pores, as a result leading to the formation of acne breakouts, which is definitely because of your wrong doing.
Therefore, no matter how tired or lazy you may be, ensure to take off your makeup first by using a makeup remover, if you wore a waterproof makeup, then you can use a waterproof makeup remover. Then you double cleanse your face, first with an oily cleanser to dissolve all sebum (oil), sunscreen and makeup remnants. Recommend, The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser. Then secondly with a water-based cleanser to cleanse away all dirt and debris from the skin. Recommended CeraVe Foaming Cleanser.
4. Exfoliate Regularly (But Don’t Over-exfoliate).
Regular exfoliation keeps the pores clean and prevents it from getting clogged. Exfoliation helps decongest the pores of pore-clogging impurities and get rid of dead skin cells sitting on the skin surface and between the pores.
Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Acids are the best ingredients when it comes to exfoliation. AHAs suchlike glycolic acid and lactic acid are best suitable for superficial exfoliation, while BHA like salicylic acid is best suitable for both superficial and deeper exfoliation. These ingredients can be found in serums, cleansers, toners and peels.
You can as well employ the services of exfoliating-clay or charcoal masks that helps to deep cleanse the pores by absorbing excess oil in the pores, removing dead skin cells and other pore-clogging impurities.
5. Avoid Touching Your Face.
Your hands are covered with dirt and bacteria which could easily be transmitted to the face up on contact. Therefore, avoid touching your face to avoid depositing dirt, bacteria and other nasty stuff to the skin pores which will also contribute to the prevention of clogged pores.
In Conclusion
Clogged pores (leading to acne breakouts) can be an annoying thing to experience, especially when they show up when there is an eventful day at the corner. But hey, clogged pores can be completely averted and also treated using the best clogged pores skincare routine approach as aforementioned.
Therefore to prevent having those embarrassing flesh-toned bumps on your face, you need to employ the prevention approach by being extremely cautious of what you put on your skin. And if by any means you happen to experience clogged pores, do well to follow up treatment immediately to avoid it metamorphosing to acne breakouts.
UP NEXT: Have Large Pores? These Are Things To Do To Minimize Them.
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