What is the stuff that comes out of a black head?

Wrap a tissue around each index finger and place one on each side of the targeted blackhead. Push down gently, and squeeze as if you are ‘rolling up’ from underneath. After one or two squeezes like this, move you fingers around so you aren’t pushing on the same area of skin.

Clean up the popped pimple with an antibacterial solution, such as alcohol or benzoyl peroxide. If it’s bleeding, keep a warm compress on it to stop the bleeding. Dab some salicylic acid on the area. This will help treat and heal the area and any remaining bacteria left inside the pimple.

An acne tool (also known as a blackhead or comedone extractor), is a tool used to remove whitehead and blackhead pimples.

Differing from a whitehead, a blackhead forms when a pore is only partially clogged; this allows some of the trapped sebum to slowly drain to the surface. When a pore becomes inflamed, it’s considered a pimple; these usually develop after whiteheads or blackheads have become infected.

Method 1 Unclog Your Pores with Steam

Wash your face. Start the unclogging process by washing your face.

Fill a pot with water and place it on the stove. Turn the heat to medium high, cover the pot, and allow it to heat.

Place a towel over your head and lean over the steaming water.

Rinse your face with cool water.

The mild antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties in baking soda may help constrict pores and prevent future breakouts. Twice a week before bed, make a paste with two teaspoons of baking soda mixed with water. Massage this paste into your skin for 30 seconds and then rinse clean—you’ll love your bright, new look.

The myth: Pores open and close. The truth: Despite what your mother told you, you can’t steam your pores open. “Pores do not have muscles around their opening to allow them to open and close,” says Pon. However, steaming the skin can help loosen up underlying debris, making blackheads easier to extract.

Toners can help close pores and tighten cell gaps after cleansing, thus reducing the penetration of impurities and environmental contaminants into the skin. It can even protect and remove chlorine and minerals present in tap water.

Let the steam bathe your face for three to five minutes, then rinse your face with cool water. Steaming your face opens up your pores, allowing them to become unclogged. Rinsing afterward gets rid of the debris, leaving your pores fresh and clean. Use cool water to close your pores.

Hot water has the tendency to dry out our skin, so it’s best to use cold water to tighten your cuticles and pores, which will prevent them from getting clogged. Cold water can “seal” the pores in the skin and scalp too, preventing dirt from getting in.

Myth: Hot water opens your pores, and cold water closes them. Reality: A surprising no. “Pores are not temperature-sensitive,” explains Wu. “Hot water can make the outer layers of skin swell, which makes pores look more ‘open,’ but they don’t open and close based on temperature.”

Cold water directly nourishes your skin. Therefore it is likely that contact with cold water clears acne by directly helping your skin, rather than improving acne through indirect means. Cold showers tighten your pores. Just as hot water can loosen your pores, cold water can effectively tighten them.

Most often, genetics determine who will have large pores. Other causes for large pores can be oily skin, since excess oil sits around the skin’s pores, making them appear enlarged. Oily and unclean skin can also cause oils to settle around the pores, making them appear larger as the skin around them thickens.

The age-old idea that you can shrink your pores—using anything from a splash of ice-cold water to an egg-white mask—is a fantastic one. Sadly, it’s also a fantasy: “Pore size is genetically determined,” says Debra Jaliman, a dermatologist in New York City, and you can’t make pores physically smaller.

Method 1 Using Home Remedies

Use ice. Rubbing an ice cube over your pores for 10 to 15 seconds can help to tighten the skin and close up the pores, making them appear smaller.

Use baking soda. Make a paste from one tablespoon of baking soda and a little water.

Make an egg white mask.

Method 1 Remedies for Making Pores Smaller

Wash your face every day, being careful not to overwash.

Apply ice cubes to your face.

Make a baking soda paste.

Drench a washcloth in lemon and pineapple juice.

Use a light scrub.

Try a yogurt mask.

Eat healthy.

Use alpha and beta hydroxy acids, or AHAs and BHAs.

“When you stop taking Accutane, often the pore goes back to the original size. You can shrink pores permanently with non-ablative laser treatments such as Medlite and Genesis and multiple Fraxel sessions, which shrinks pores while also increasing collagen production.”

If the pores on your nose, cheeks, or forehead are large, try spot treating with a clay mask. Smooth a thin layer on clean skin, leave it on for several minutes, and rinse it off with water. The clay can quickly and gently wick extra oil out of congested pores so that your skin appears smoother.

The cost varies by where you live, the office you go to, and the size of the area being treated. A full face laser resurfacing should cost ranges from $900 to about $1400. A full face plus eyelid should run approximately $1400 to $1900. And a full face with neck and chest will be $1500 to $1900.