If You Love Pore Strips, You Might Want To Read This

If you haven’t used a pore strip before in your life, it’s pretty likely that you’re still familiar with its existence. You would have seen a movie star or model with a little  ‘bandage’ on her nose and though to yourself, “why does she look so happy, if she’s got a nose injury”. Oh you sweet summer child, that’s not a nose injury, that is a pore strip and it is the most popular blackhead treatment that’s available today. These bizarrely satisfying beauty tools are also called ‘nose strips’ based of the popularity with which it is used on the said body part, although it can be used anywhere on the body and face. They are advertised to remove blackheads, gunk and micro particles, which clog up your pores to let them ‘breathe’. What’s more fun is that you can see the results for yourself, and that’s where it’s appeal lies.

A NYC dermatologist, Dr. Sejal Shah, compares the pore strip to being an extra-strong Band-Aid. A Band-Aid that works to wick away the pore clogging grime, debris and dirt, when it is ripped off your skin. Blackhead removal seems to be the primary reason why people use pore strips, the secondary one being for pore cleansing and cleaning. Blackheads are formed when a hair follicle opening is plugged or clogged by sebum (oil) and/or dead skin. All this naturally occurring stuff get’s oxidized by the air and looks black, which gives it the name ‘blackhead’. Because of hundreds of clogged pored and blackheads, the affected skin looks textured and gritty, which the pore strip makers promise will get ripped out.

How They Work

Pore strips (or nose strips) aim to remove the top layers of our dead skin cells along with the blackheads with the help of an ultra strong adhesive. Just like using a Band-Aid, when you rip it off, they grab hair and sometimes skin too, a pore strip will latch on to anything in it’s way – dirt, oil, hair and all. But unlike a Band-Aid, which heals the wound, a pore strip only gets the blackheads out but does not help to cure the problem or solve it once and for all. It just a temporary cosmetic fix, which makes us feel good, until the problem comes back again.

Do They Actually Remove Blackheads?

It’s short-term results and effectiveness does depend a lot on the way it is used. For instance, the product is meant to be used on moist skin (warm water to be used for this purpose), so if someone was to apply it on dry skin, or fails to smooth out the creases to make sure that the strip adheres to all of the skin’s surface, chances are they won’t have any good results. Patience of about 10-15 minutes (more if you live in a humid place) is required as the strip dries and sticks to the gunk on your skin. If used properly accordingly to the instructions, the strips can clean your skin’s pores, albeit temporarily, and make them look smaller in size. As pores get clogged quickly, you may have to use the strip 1-2 rimes in a week, but there is no permanent improvement or change of your skin. We wish there was a permanent solution though!

Pore Strip Fans

So yes, the dermatologists agree that pore strips are just a quick fix, with some even calling them out for their harmful effects on our skin. But users can’t deny it, there is something very gratifying and enticing about pulling off a nose strip, once dry, and looking at those hideous black spikes and blackheads on it. There are loads of people who actually know the truth about it’s effectiveness, but still use the strip because its fun and satisfying and at the end of the day, very few products show you instant results. By looking at the prickly junk, blackheads and tiny hair, you know that the product has actually worked and is not a gimmick. The new trend of adding activated charcoal has hit he pore strip makers hard, as a lot of the products now contain charcoal to really get those pores clean.

But after care is necessary too. Remember to wash/wipe away any strip residue, if it is still stuck to your skin. Cold water would help, as they are known to shrink the pores, which you have just cleaned out. If there is excessive redness after use, apply ice to the affected area until the redness subsides. If you feel that the stip is too painful to remove or is stuck on too tight to your skin, then moisten the strip with water until it comes right off. People with sensitive skin may avoid the pore strips completely, or try to find a product specifically suited to their skin type.

Nose/pore strips could be an excellent way to remove blackheads and unwanted buildup off your epidermis, but it has to be used correctly to see any concrete results. The quick fix aside, if you want to get rid of clogged pores and blackheads, you need to clean your skin daily and exfoliate regularly.