Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 09:26 am
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If you have oily skin type like me, you’ve likely googled ‘how to remove clogged pores’ in the past.
Anyone can have clogged pores but for oily skin folks, it’s a recurring problem.
Today, I’m going to share my secret with you. A solution that actually works.
The best part is that it doesn’t cost any money AND you can do it while staying at home.
I’m going to share my experience with you first before we get to the juicy part.
First Real Skincare Routine
If you’ve read 50 facts about me, you’ll know that I never go to bed without washing my face.
I’ve always had a little bit of interest in skincare but I started really paying attention in 2015.
During this time, the 10-step skincare started to become popular. Everyone was saying to double cleanse and to layer a bunch of different products on your skin.
I never had much of a skincare routine before then.
My old routine consisted of three steps: cleanser, toner, and cream. I used sunscreen on some days (use sunscreen, people!) but my pores always were clogged.
Many people swore up and down that the 10-step skincare routine transformed their skin.
But I was skeptical.
Could I double cleanse twice a day?
Layer tons of moisturizer on my skin?
Do young adults usually spend that much time and money on skincare products?
There were so many positive testimonials that I decided to go for it. Try it out.
In a short time, you can visibly see the results.
Your skin becomes smoother and clearer.
Even people around me noticed. I started getting compliments on my skin, which didn’t use to happen before.
Honestly, I regret not keeping a photo diary.
It was hard to see the difference myself because it was such a gradual process.
If I had taken before and after pictures, I would have been able to make comparisons (and add pictures to this blog post).
Then Life Happened
This worked for a few years.
About 3.5 years later, in my early 20s, I started breaking out a lot.
At first, I didn’t think much of it and thought all my pesky pimples would go away. It didn’t.
My skin condition got worse and worse. There were stubborn pimple marks everywhere.
I was diligently using products like an oil cleanser, a gel cleanser, clay mask, vitamin c serum, BHA product, sheet masks, peeling gel, essence, moisturizing serum, cream, and sunscreen.
The only product I didn’t use regularly was eye cream.
So I added eye cream to my skincare routine.
I became obsessed with finding the best products in the market.
I was greedy.
Once you’re used to your skin looking decent, going backwards is disappointing.
I would hoard and constantly switch skincare products. Trying hard to find what the issue was.
Maybe I was allergic to a product. That’s why my skin was reacting like this.
I even started getting regular facials, an expensive self-care activity.
Yes, it hurt my wallet but if it meant my skin was going to get back to normal, I didn’t mind spending the money.
The Incident That Changed it All
I went to a spa and they asked for the list of products I regularly use.
My aesthetician commented on how my skin was congested and red.
She suggested using fewer products because the more products I use, the higher the chance of it irritating my skin.
In hindsight, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner.
I was so used to layering on all these products. And because it worked once, I thought it would for sure work again.
It was strange throwing out all these bottles of skincare sitting on my dressing table. But I had to simplify my routine.
It wasn’t about adding more products or finding out which product I was allergic to. There was just too much product and my skin couldn’t handle it.
Buying fewer products meant saving money. Who doesn’t want that?
Honestly, I thought that would be the end of the situation. My skin would bounce back to its good condition but there was one more thing.
I needed to check the ingredients of each product.
I was especially careful with the skincare products I was putting on my face. I was trying to change the situation for the better, not prolong it.
Don’t blindly trust companies that label their products as ‘oil-free’ or ‘non-comedogenic.’ I used to and looking back, I was so naive.
If you check these oil-free product ingredients, you will find that there are some ingredients that will block your pores.
I wanted to make sure what those ingredients were so I could avoid them.
But there were so many ingredients I couldn’t even pronounce, let alone remember.
So what do you do?
Checking Skincare Ingredients – How to Remove Clogged Pores
Go on the website AcneClinic.
AcneClinic has a page where you can copy and paste the ingredient list of a product.
Once you do so, the website will scan the list and highlight the ingredients in red that would clog your pores.
It’s as simple as that and it only takes a few seconds.
I would especially recommend this page for people with oily or acne-prone skin.
I would like to say that I am NOT promoting their company. I never even clicked around the website. I only use the website for this page alone.
Once you start, you might be like me and get addicted to checking all your current skincare products. I know I did.
Even now, I always do research on skin care products before buying them. I heavily rely on AcneClinic to tell me the results.
If I see any ingredients highlighted in red, I will not consider buying the product.
You’ll probably be surprised at how many products have pore-clogging ingredients.
It can be annoying to find the list of ingredients of a product and also inconvenient not being able to buy skincare products on a whim but it’s worth it, I promise.
You can try memorizing the ingredients to avoid, I guess but a lot of these names sound complicated. I have never heard of many of them before.
But when you do this step often enough, you’ll soon recognize it tends to be the common few ingredients that keep popping up.
Final Notes – How to Remove Clogged Pores
This step has immensely helped my skin condition and is a way of removing clogged pores.
Now, I want to say that just because you use products that won’t clog your pores don’t mean that you won’t break out anymore in the future.
There are a lot of factors that can cause pimples.
However, by using noncomedogenic products, your pores will be less likely to be clogged.
The lesson learned is to not go overboard with skin care products. Also, you should carefully check your skincare ingredients.
Remember that what once worked for your skin doesn’t mean it always works.
Now to you – How to Remove Clogged Pores
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Xoxo,
Nicole