2019-09-01 Cosmopolitan South Africa

B y MADDIEABERMAN

We know you’re popping yourpimples

(even though everyone, ahem,tellsyou
not to), so you might as well doit right.

Here’s how to go pro

Blackheads

Whattheyare

Notdirt!Theseareopen pores filled

witha comboof dead skin cells and oil

that‘whenexposed to air, oxidise and

turndark,’explainsJordana Mattioli,

a medicalaesthetician in New York.

Whentopick

Unlikeotherzits,blackheads don’t have

a lifecycle,meaning they’re always

there,ripeforthepicking,accordingto

celebrityskincareguruRenéeRouleau.

Howtodeal

1

EXFOLIATEFIRST

Startwitha scrub,likeNeutrogena’s,

whichspecificallytacklesblackheads.

‘Themoredeadskinyouremove,

theeasierextractionswillbe,’

explainsMattioli.

2

S Q U E E Z E S M A R T

Beforeyougoat it, wrapeachof your

twoindexfingersin a damptissueor

cottonpadto stopyournailsfrom

diggingin andspreadinggerms.Then

placea fingeroneithersideof the

blackheadandgentlysqueezeit. ‘Avoid

positioningyourfingerstooclose

together,asthiswon’tlettheblackhead

comeout,’saysRouleau.Hergeneral

ruleis if it doesn’tworkafterthethird

try,stopor you’llriskdamagingtheskin

or breakinga capillary(whichcan

createa permanentscaror redness).

3

STOPTHEM

FROMREBOUNDING

Evenif youextractthem perfectly,

yourporeswilleventually fill back

up... that’sjustwhat they do. (Boo.)

A charcoalmask,like Sorbet’s peel-off

version,willhelpslow their arrival by

absorbingexcessoil. ‘It won’t fully

removeblackheads like squeezing

does,butit canmake them less

noticeablefora week or two,’

Mattiolisays.

Neutrogena Visibly

Clear Blackhead

Eliminating Daily

Scrub (R120

at Clicks)

SCAN IT

SHOP IT

SCAN IT

SHOP IT

Sorbet Ch a rc o a l

Pe e l - O f f M a s k

(R69 at Clicks)

BEAUTY

COSMOPOLITAN.CO.ZA | SEPTEMBER 2019

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