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Do you suffer from blackheads? I noticed that many of my male friends suffer from this unpleasant “skin condition”, especially on the nose. Of course, I did not bring up the topic for fear of embarrassing them but I believe men are no different from women. In order to be well groomed, men’s skincare is important. Therefore, I feel that this post will be a great favour to those who are having a hard time battling blackheads.

What are blackheads?
A blackhead (medically known as an open comedo) is a yellowish or blackish bump or plug on the skin. It is caused by excess oils that have accumulated in the sebaceous gland’s duct. Blackheads can also be aggravated if you leave your skin dirty and dead cells accumulate within your open pores. Apart from that, too much makeup is another cause of blackheads.

Removing Blackheads
If there is no infection on your blackhead, you can try extracting blackheads yourself. However, do make sure you use sterile materials and do so in a clean environment. To make the extraction process less painful, try steaming your skin for a while over a bowl of hot water to soften the skin and loosen the pores.

Bear in mind that excessive squeezing can damage the skin around the pore and invite acne formation. To remove the blackhead, use a flat blackhead remover or comedone extractor which are available from most beauty stores.

Treatment wise, I would recommend topical products like benzol peroxide and tretinoin. Check with your local pharmacy or doctor on these products before using them. There’s a large range of specialised men’s skin care products for blackhead and acne prone skin.