Finally! Get Rid of Blackheads

At-home blackhead-removing doohickeys — gimmicky or genius?

Biore pore strips



“You might as well use Scotch tape,” Lancer says. When we asked Bratschi if they work she says, “Some people claim they do, but I’ve met just as many who said they don’t — and personally, I don’t think they work,” Bratschi says. “Firstly, for sensitive or thin skin they are not a good idea as you’re attaching an adhesive strip and ripping it off, which can damage and lift the skin. For that same reason, if you’re using any form of topical or internal acne treatment, it’s a serious contra-indication. Products like Accutane, Differin, Epiduo, Tetracycline, and even Retin-A all fall in to this category. These have the effect of exfoliating the skin, which can be extremely fragile and vulnerable — the strips can lift and damage that fresh skin. They also claim not to remove hair, but if it can pull out a blackhead, then it can pull out a hair. Finally, unless you thoroughly cleanse the skin afterwards, the adhesive can remain, and that means more debris, which can make your blackheads worse.”

At-home galvanic and Zeno devices



“They may be ‘safe’ but in my experience they don’t work,” Bratschi says. She uses a lot of cutting edge technology at her spa, including professional galvanic devices, but she thinks these small, at-home care devices are nearly always ineffective and just a clever marketing gimmick. “Even when they do work, the results are incredibly short lived or minimal and often they rely on you buying supplies, so in the long run they just don’t represent any value.”