Byrdie posted “What Dermatologists Really, Truly Think of Pore Strips” featuring Dr. Purvisha Patel.
Remember when pore strips first surfaced? Happy teens graced television ads, peeling away a paper-like strip from their noses and marveling with delight at all the gunk that came out. For me, I’ve never truly experienced the happy-teen-in-a-pore-strip-commercial sensation: Usually, when I peel them away, my eyes water, I pause in between small tears to take a breather, re-evaluate my life decisions, and curse the skin gods for burdening me with clogged pores, all to finally unveil just a few clogs leftover on the strip.
“I like them—if they work,” says Purvisha Patel, MD, of Visha Skincare. “Pore strips are strips of material with an adhesive on one side to adhere to and pull out open comedones or blackheads. Blackheads happen when oil in the pores of the skin is exposed to air and oxidized, resulting in [a black appearance]. If the adhesive truly grabs the oil and pulls it out, voilá—the blackhead is taken out. The ability of the strip to adhere and clear the pores is a variable factor, and pore strips may not work for everyone, especially those that may have adhesive allergies.”
While pore strips may “work” for you, the dangers outweigh the benefits. As a result, we asked for a few effective methods to help remove the gunk in your skin.
“Cleansing with a strong oil-busting wash that also exfoliates, such as Visha Skin Care Advanced purifying cleanser, is a more surefire way of eliminating blackheads,” says Patel.