Anon asks…I have a follow-up question regarding the pore cleansing strips. Although I don’t use them too often AND I follow the directions on the box, I can’t really see the results. I mean, I use them when I think my nose needs it (I can actually see tiny black dots on my nose) but nothing comes out when I peel off the strip. Then I end up pressing my nose really hard to make them come out, which makes my nose red and swollen AND makes me sneeze. Are my strips not working or do I have weird pores??
The Right Brain thinks:
That’s puzzling. The only thing we can think of is that you’re not applying the strips properly. The strips work by adhesion to your skin. If you have the strips too wet or too dry, they won’t stick very well and if they don’t stick they won’t work. The principle is pretty simple so it’s unlikely that your pores are the problem.
What is a problem is the expense of the pore strips – if you have to keep experimenting to get them to work, you’re probably going to blow through a box pretty quickly. And even on sale, that could still cost you $8.99 for 14 strips! So while we urge you to try using them again with different levels of wetness, we realize it might be too costly. Now, if you’re still worried that your pores are weird, go read this.
What do you think? Do pore strips really work for you? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the “poor” Beauty Brains community.
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I can totally relate to this post – I have quite visible pores on my nose that require daily exfoliation to look even halfway acceptable. Whenever I try those porestrips [and Lord, have I gone through a few in my experiments...] they maybe pull out a couple [literally one or two] of them but that’s it. No luck!
I’ll tell you what got rid of my blackheads (and the two times I’ve used Biore strips, they actually worked, unlike the previous decade I’ve used them and they maybe removed some dead skin and oil): Accutane. Lol. Kind of an extreme treatment that’s not for everyone, but still….
Those pore strips are a total waste of money. I’ve tried all kinds of brands with various wetness, not one of them worked. I swear to you scotch tape works better! Actually, you know those gel masks – like the Freeman cucumber thing? The ones that are so sticky when you put them on, then you let them dry, and peel them off? Suppose to pull off dead skin. I’ve actually seen my blackheads come out with those. Perhaps because it can kind of soak into the pore in question? Maybe the BB’s know. All I know is when it’s fully dry that stuff does seem to take my blackheads with it. Especially if I speed the drying process by hitting it with some blasts from a hairdryer.
I have to say I love the pore strips! Whenever I remember to do them they take out so much junk it’s ridiculous… I put the strip on a piece of white paper to better see the grossness that has just left my face
So maybe they just don’t work for every skin type? Not sure, but they sure work well for my mother and I 
those strips are amusing for a quick gross out, but i don’t think they really tackle the long term issue of buildup in pores(also, according to paula begoun, there is a chance you can injure your skin and the film forming ingredients have potential to exacerbate the issue)….my fave pore cleansing product is paula’s choice 2% bha lotion. the product also comes in gel or liquid, but my skin is a bit on the dry side, yet i get blackheads. this stuff keeps them so clean and clear!
I like Paula’s 2% BHA too. It takes a little while to work and get rid of them but then you just have to use it twice a week or so.
Love the pore strips. I use them almost every other day with no problems or irritation. I leave it on for 30 minutes or longer to make sure it is fully dry. I pull off the strip slowly and a lot of stuff comes out.
My friend taught me a trick. Its kinda gross but it really helps the strips work better.before you apply the strip split a cotton ball in two and loosely stick them up your nose.it makes a rounded surface for you to then apply the strip to.BTW don’t forget to breath through your mouth lol! This is the way I apply them and I get better results that way.
I just tried this cotton ball trick-it works wonders for me (waay more effective), and I got a laugh out of how I looked. Thanks for the tip foxybeige!
try steaming your face before you apply the strip as well – I know this is gross but I know on my skin it helps to ‘push’ the blackheads a little bit out, ready to be captured by the pore strips. I find them useless unless I do this, but with it I get heaps of gunk out
I’ve tried the pore strips and while it is very fascinating seeing the stuff which is pulled out, I don’t find they have a very long term effect and leave a yucky residue. I’ve found manuka honey smeared on works far better, and it’s a lot cheaper (and tasty too). A baking soda paste also works rather well (but does not taste as nice).
I totally relate! The first couple of times I used strips, I saw maybe one or two blackheads, but it’s been years and I’ve never had those results again!
I’m not sure, maybe pore size has something to do with it, because I used them on my bf, who has huge pores and a lot of his blackheads came out.
The question is do they still help by removing dead skin or even hairs (that the blackheads nest in the roots of) or is it not worth it?
Another thing to try is glue- I’ve heard a lot of people having success with smearing on some Elmer’s glue, letting it dry, & then peeling it off. I’d maybe try that in addition to first steaming your face to loosen everything.
if you have big pores is there a way to shrink them or you just stuck with big pores?
I think a lot of us confuse big pores for blackheads, myself included. I’ve had what I thought were blackheads on my nose since I was a teenager, and those pore strips never worked. I only found out earlier this year that they were far more likely to be big pores, which, if I’m not mistaken, we’re pretty much just stuck with.
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