Pore strips

Pore strips have been part of my skin routine since forever. I use them once a week or every two weeks depending on how much my blackheads have "grown" - if I use the strips when they are small (although visible) it won't work so well. 

What I usually do to make them more effective is to do a steam facial first (for about 5 minutes) and then I put the strip directly on the top of the area I want to clean, since it is already wet from the steam.

Although there are many blackheads that don't come out, the pore strips are still the most effective way to get ride of them, at least for me. Never, ever pull out your blackheads directly with your hands specially if you have long fingernails - besides hurting your skin, you will be increasing the chances of turning a blackhead into an infected, much more visible and painful pimple and, worst of all, it can leave a scar if you insist frequently in the same area. My mum was right.

So, here are some pore stripes I've tried:

NIVEA VISAGE CLEAR-UP STRIPS

Unfortunately in my country (by the way, it's Portugal) we don't have a wide range of pore strips (actually we don't have a wide range of lots of stuff) and for many years this was the only pore strip available on national market. They work fine but you must be very careful with the amount of water you put - a little more and they simply won't dry (or it will take too long) and won't be very effective. The box contains strips for all T-zone (nose, forehead and chin) which is an advantage for me, once I use them basically all over my face (cheeks included).

T-ZONE PORE STRIPS

I really love these T-Zone pore stips. They are a little more "agressive" than the Nivea ones - my skin burns a little after using them - but they do the job better (more blackheads pulled out). Also, they dry faster. They appeared in our market recently so I start using them not too long ago. They are a little more expensive than the Nivea ones and the box only contains nose strips (but I still use them in other places). The brand also haves another strip shape (rectangular) for other areas, but it is sold separately. 

BIORÉ CLEANSING STRIPS (pore pack Sakura/Green tea)

This week I ordered these Bioré strips (among other Bioré stuff). We only have Nivea and T-Zone pore strips available on market (as far as I'm concerned) so I'm really looking forward to try these ones. Besides, I'm really into japanese culture, literature, food and beauty products. They didn't arrived yet so more on that later.


HOMEMADE PORE STRIPS

On Michelle Phan's youtube channel you can find a recipe to make your own pore strips at home with milk and unflavoured gelatin (she uses powder gelatin but it will work with gelatin sheets, if you cut them in small pieces). It's quite effective for something made at home and I use it when I'm out of pore strips. Since it is liquid before it dries you can easily apply it with a brush in the areas where is difficult to use the traditional strip. It smells bad (nothing unberable though) but sometimes desperate times calls for desperate measures. Click here for the video!

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At this time you already noticed that pores and blackheads are a main concern to me. I'm currently testing some products for this particular problem - both cosmetic and treatment stuff - and intend to review them later.

What are your favorite products to minimize blackheads and pores? Do you have any specific routine to deal with them? Feel free to share it!