How to treat congested pores??
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free skin care · Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:28 pm

My skin is looking better after the huge breakout I had about 2 weeks ago, but my pores still look congested! Should I exfoliate with AHA or BHA? Or is there something else I can do to clear up the pores? Help help Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:33 pm

Something that has worked really well for me is the IS Clinical Super Serum in the AM and the Active Serum at night (I alternate nights). I think this has made a big difference. I'm still breaking out a bit, but even my SO commented the other day that my face is looking clearer. The other thing I think has helped is the Aloette moisturizer I've started using again. I think it has salicylic acid in it (Cellular Day Defense with SPF). I used to have alot of underneath bumps around my chin area that never really came to the surface, but seemed congested. A few days back I was rubbing my chin and I realized they were gone!! They'd seemed to have been there forever, so I was very excited that this routine seems to be working. HTH!

free skin care · Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:12 pm

My method is cheaper: I use OCM and/or my homemade DHCC.

The DHCC has been the best pore-decongestant for me. If I am lazy with it or if I don't have it when I need it, OCM works wonders.

What I do is OCM, then DHCC then if the problem is severe (esp if it comes with spots) I put on an aspirin and yoghurt mask.

Have you tried them? The recipes are on the DIY thread.

free skin care · Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:35 pm

go for a facial! Smile

i went for a facial last weekend and now im starting with a clean slate.. maintaining exfoliation with clarisonic, jurlique ahc and phytomer vegetal exfoliant.. looks good so far

free skin care · Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:36 am

I have to use the following for my stubborn skin (lots and lots of congestion):

-BHA (low Ph, clean) - I use Diana Yvonne's
-Clarisonic brush AM/PM (just added microdermabrasion cream to the brush head, which has been my missing link for clearing them out)
-Watch my products carefully for causing congestion; this is the new part of my scheme.

I finally discovered a 90% non-congested condition, which was huge for me. However, it will depend on the amount of congestion/location you have.

BHA is better for getting into the pore but I think you might need a bit of manual exfoliation such as a washcloth or microdermabrasion cream to move the plugs out.

free skin care · Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:53 am

Yes I have been doing OCM for awhile and I switched to Burt's Bees orange cleanser. After much analysis, I decided that it is probably the burt's bees that has caused accumulation of stuff in my pores Confused

I've switched back to gel cleansers and my skin seems happier with some residual pores that refuse to clean out! Thanks for the advice everyone! I am going to do the pumpkin enzyme mask (I believe that has exfoliation properties) and do an aspirin mask. Should that be enough? I've heard great things about the super serum, but I just don't have any place in my routine to add it Exclamation

free skin care · Thu Oct 12, 2006 12:24 pm

What I do is steam my face and then cleanse with the Clarisonic. Works great for me.

free skin care · Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:33 pm

poofybabypenguin wrote:

Yes I have been doing OCM for awhile and I switched to Burt's Bees orange cleanser. After much analysis, I decided that it is probably the burt's bees that has caused accumulation of stuff in my pores Confused

I've switched back to gel cleansers and my skin seems happier with some residual pores that refuse to clean out! Thanks for the advice everyone! I am going to do the pumpkin enzyme mask (I believe that has exfoliation properties) and do an aspirin mask. Should that be enough? I've heard great things about the super serum, but I just don't have any place in my routine to add it Exclamation

Hi Poofybabypenguin,
You write that the Burt's Bees orange cleanser caused accumulation of stuff in your pores, but how was OCM with your skin? I am Asian (I think I read in another thread that you are too) and have been thinking of trying OCM to get rid of gunk in my own pores. What oils were you using and in what proportion? Would you recommend OCM to me?

Thanks!

priscilla

free skin care · Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:42 pm

exfoliation and Aqua Glycolic cleanser work very well in getting rid of my congested pores.

free skin care · Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:01 pm

hendricks,
how do you exfoliate? acids? manual exfoliation? enzyme peel? how often do you exfoliate? thanks!
priscilla

free skin care · Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:43 am

Hi Priscilla,

Yes I am Asian, I have combination skin for your reference. I did use OCM for several months and it was quite gratifying to get little plugs out of my skin Laughing

I used 50/50 grape seed oil and castor oil to start with and eventually added more grapeseed oil. Not sure the exact proportion but somewhere between 50% grapeseed oil to 75% grapeseed oil. I used the extra virgin olive oil before but I find that the grapeseed oil is finer and I just prefer it more. I loved the OCM method and it DID NOT clog up my pores. The only reason I switched to Burt's Bees is because school was starting and I had no time to up keep making my own oil blends Sad

However, I did not like Burt's Bees for 2 reasons ( I will do a full review eventually :P)

1) it clogged my pores.
2) it was thick and not very viscuous so it dragged on my skin more than the OCM method and I don't like that drag, probably not good. It is not like massaging, I felt the dragging! (ok, I'm a little obessessed with that word haha)

To get back on track, I am doing an aspril mask tonight (finally a little break from midterms whew!) and I'll let everyone know how that goes! and i'll add the PSF pumpkin mask in a few days Smile

free skin care · Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:57 am

Hi, Poofybabypenguin,
I love your moniker!
Thanks for giving me the details on your experience with OCM. It's something that I am contemplating as an alternative to BHA/AHAs for cleaning my pores...particularly since my skin is less oily in winter.

I look forward to hearing about your experiences with aspirin and PSF pumpkin masks.
Cheers,
priscilla

free skin care · Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:37 pm

The OCM method has me interested enough that I got the Dermalogica Precleanse, the Decleor, and today I ordered the Bioelements. So far I think that I like the Dermalogica because I'm a sucker for olive, and the Decleor for the smell. The price for Decleor is better than Dermalogica but now I'll give Bioelements a shot. One thing I've done is some days start with the OCM then use my Dr. Hauschka's Cleansing cream before getting rid of any residue with a foaming cleanser like Astara or the Bioelements Decongestant.

free skin care · Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:42 pm

I had really badly congested skin from this past summer and have found that a BHA + AHA combination, along with my Clarisonic skin brush has really done the trick to clear up my skin. The obnoxious visible pores on the top of my nose and blacckheads on the sides of my nose are gone!

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