DIY Beauty: natural ingredients to keep blackheads away

Baking soda & tomatoes rids blackheads

I believe most of us are plagued by some amount of blackheads or whiteheads on parts of our face. These are called comedones by dermatologists and these facial pests are a result of the waxy oil that accumulates on our skin. When a minuscule globule of sebum collects at the top of a pore, a whitehead develops. When the waxy oil hardens, plugs the pore and is exposed to air, it turns black through oxidation and becomes a blackhead.

Our nose area is a prime spot for such “skin worms” and the best way to get rid of them is to have been squeezed out although some like to use the pore pack nose strips to do the job instead. I’ve been experimenting with some homemade beauty remedies and found that there are some natural ways to keep them at bay.

Baking soda
The texture of moistened baking soda is slightly abrasive and hence is good for exfoliation. With about a 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda, I added some water and then gently massaged all over my nose area before rinising out. My nose immediately looked quite clean afterwards but the only problem was that the baking soda seem to cause a brief sneezing effect so I wouldn’t recommend using this too frequently. Once a week is good enough for me.

Tomato
I read that tomato contains vitamin C plus an acid that removes dead epidermal cells, thus helping to clear whiteheads and prevent blackheads from turning into pimples. You can simply cut a slice and rub it on your nose area or anywhere else you have blackheads. What I do is to use the mashed pulp, rub it on my nose area and leave on for about 10 minutes before rinsing off. In fact, I found that using the baking soda to scrub prior to rubbing on the tomato pulp is the best.

Homemade remedies must be used regularly for results
However, don’t expect either of these remedies to keep you totally free from blackheads. I still have blackheads, but a lot lesser. If you have a lot of blackheads to begin with, I suggest you extract them first before starting on these remedies. And you have to use them regularly to keep those blackheads away. Like I mentioned, I use the baking soda about once a week but I rub the tomato pulp almost every other day on my nose.

It’s a cheap and easy way to keep my blackheads at bay!

iherb

Comments

  1. Penny says:

    Thanks for this great tip! I usually depend on scrubs and then pressing them out one by one. This is definitely a cheaper and less painful way.

    Penny: You may still have to press them out first before you start on the remedy. After that, you should find lesser blackheads if you use these regularly.

  2. Rachel says:

    Thanks for the tip!

    Would you happen to know about milia though? Is it similar to whiteheads? Cause I have these small bumps on the temples of my face…It doesn’t have a head and there’s no way of extracting it out.

    Rachel: I wrote about milia seeds here. It’s not the same as whiteheads and are more difficult to extract.

  3. prettybeautiful says:

    hmm i like this tip since it doesnt require much preparation. hehe. me lub porepack! the satisfaction is just..too overwhelming

    prettybeautiful: Haha…I remember your piece of art… ?

  4. eternalvoyageur says:

    Another thing that works is crushed aspirin mixed with yoghurt, applied on the area for 15 minutes, not more than twice a week. But do use your sunscreen afterwards since aspirin (and tomato and I imagine the baking soda as well) make the skin more sun sensitive !

    eternalyoyageur: Hey thanks for the tip! I haven’t got my hands on aspirins as yet. I must try this when I get the chance.

  5. mooncougar13 says:

    huh… that’ll help a few things out
    thanks for the heads up

    mooncougar13: You’re welcome! ?

  6. miyo says:

    voila sesame.. thank for your great tIPS… but i have yet to buy the baking soda not sure what brand shd i buy ? ?

    miyo: There is only one I’ve seen around and is widely recommended. The Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. I got it at NTUC supermarket for under $2.

  7. MISS MAC says:

    THAT IS SUCH A FABULOUS IDEA! I WILL DEFINITELY TRY THAT.

    Miss Mac: Hope you’ll like it.

  8. MISS MAC says:

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    Miss Mac: I’ll check it out soon…

  9. Tine says:

    That’s a great idea; I can finish up tomatoes quicker that way before they rot. And in such a good way too ?

    Tine: ?

  10. mag says:

    Love these tips! Cheap and easy too. ? Thank you.

    mag: You’re welcome! ?

  11. jun says:

    I wonder if the bake king soda is possible too… cant seem to find the arms and hammer one at my shop and save

    Jun: Should be fine as long as it is baking soda.

  12. fwy says:

    I had been using the body shop blue corn scrub mask which works okay for me. Some people says using sea salt as a scrub? Not sure about this one.

  13. MISS CHANDLER says:

    Wow! that sounds great, i’m going to raid my kitchen to find some baking soda!

    by the way, how would you extract blackheads first?

    =)

  14. sesame says:

    I just use a tissue paper or cotton wool to help me.

  15. lisa1 says:

    i have alot of blackheads and whiteheads arownd ny mouth wht do i do?? plz help waht should i use plz

  16. J says:

    Wow, thanks for all the advice! Another thing that I’ve heard that is similar to the asprin scrub, is geting an asprin and get it wet (not enough that it disolves) then putting it on your milia (rubbing it sort of). From those I’ve heard, the milia just pops off! And I’ve heard from those that did the scrub that it felt like it was opening (so maybe we won’t need to use pins on our face!)

    The most important thing though is make sure that the asprin is UNCOATED. if its coated it can actually increase acne, and I think we’ve had enough of that. Great website btw!

  17. J says:

    Omg, i though I was on the article about milia, sorry about that above post!

  18. sesame says:

    I’ve never tried aspirin on my face – only used it as a lip scrub mixed with brown sugar.

  19. mehreen says:

    i m having lot of bleak heads and white heads on my face. plz help me out how to get rid of this………

  20. me says:

    I got thrombo plabitis and a deep vein clot in my leg after doing the tomato trick, problem was i left the the tomato on between showers, show – rub tomato one face and shoulders let dry and leave on until following morning when i take next shower. repeat. did it cause the thrombo- i’m not sure but i wont use it anymore.

  21. Billie212 says:

    During a trip overseas in London (I love London) and I was running out of my regular face wash… I stopped into this lovely salon, and they recommended the Shielo Anti-Aging Complexion Scrub. I picked up at the store, and I ordered one online from Shielo’s website.

    I love this stuff. After just a few days of using it I noticed my skin became so clean and it not only eliminated all my blackheads (and I do mean all) a my skin also began to exude a youthful glow that I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. The only con to my experience would have to be that after a couple weeks my skin dried up a little, but a few days of giving this scrub a break and I was back to using it not to mention I have not had one pimple since using this regularly!

  22. Aaria says:

    I really want to get rid of my black heads…i’ll try this remedy.. thanks for sharing! ?

  23. yhuna diaz says:

    …really amazing!:). thnk you!!
    .!atleast now I have ‘d idea on how to get rid of this…

  24. OceanSoul89 says:

    Blood clots are not caused by this. Diet, lack of exercise, surgery, genetics ect can cause clots.

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