Blackheads

[Jade1215]

Hello! I would love to know if anyone can recommend affordable skin care products that can help with stubborn blackheads? Please & thank you! 

[KitKaty]

Definitely check out The Ordinary. These are some of my favorite products from them.

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% Exfoliating Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL  The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner 8 oz/ 240 mL  The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Exfoliating Peeling Solution 1 oz/ 30 mL 

[LilaMJ]

@Jade1215 I agree, The Ordinary is a wonderful, affordable bland. I’d also suggest Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA + BHA Pore-Tight Toner 5.07 oz/ 150 mL . Have a great day 💕

[sprocketta]

@Jade1215 Bha is the way to go. I also use the Paula's Choice Clear products (anti-redness exfoliant and pore normalizing cleanser). They make a huge difference. 

[WinglessOne]

@Jade1215  Have you already tried BHA (salicylic acid)? That ingredient gets down into your pores to degunk them. A very popular leave-on product is Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid. Paula's Choice has other leave-on BHA exfoliants, like the CLEAR Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution (I've used and loved that one; it also contains 2% BHA) and other products with a higher % of BHA. Or you can try their face wash, Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser which contains 0.5% BHA: apply it to your face, let it sit for a minute, then rinse it off. 

For products Sephora sells, The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser 5 oz / 150 ml and The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Acne + Blackhead Cleanser 5 oz/ 150 mL look like good options. You could also try The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Masque 1.7 oz/ 50 mL which is a combo of BHA, clay, and charcoal—3 ways to attack acne and possibly loosen existing blackheads. 

Whatever you do, don't try to extract blackheads yourself via squeezing/popping or an extraction tool. Make an appointment for a pro to do that for you. 🙂 Otherwise you risk worsening the problem. 

[sydtomato]

Definitely a bha exfoliant on a regular basis. You want to address the issue causing the blackheads which is clogged pores rather than trying to removing part of the blackheads (what pore strips do) as they will just come back if you don't. I would recommend the salicylic acid from The Ordinary or the bha exfoliant from The Inkey List, both are affordable! @Jade1215