My approach to treating breakouts and blackheads has always fallen far on the holistic side of esthetics. My goal in the treatment room is to help you figure out what’s causing your breakouts or blackheads in the first place and work on healing them from the inside out. When I say “treat breakouts and blackheads at home”, I’m not talking about performing at-home extractions. Sure, extractions might be necessary from time to time. I myself need blackheads extracted occasionally. But standing in front of a mirror squeezing and picking at your face until there’s nothing left to pick is not the way to go. Please don’t do that to your precious skin. What I am talking about is how to properly treat your breakouts and/or blackheads at home without damaging your skin.

I know it’s tough as most of us have been at home for at least three weeks now due to the pandemic and it’s very tempting to get all Inspector Gadget on our skin. (Side note - if you own a magnifying mirror, please do yourself a favor and get rid of that thing today. Only myself or your esthetician or dermatologist will see your skin on a magnified level.) Try to resist spending your extra time at home examining your skin in front of the mirror. Spend that time giving yourself a thorough cleanse or a good facial massage.

Below are a few ways to practice giving your skin proper care for prevention, along with some methods to treat breakouts and blackheads at home.

keep your skin clean

If you’ve been in to see me for a facial treatment, you know I spend a lot of time cleansing your skin, massaging the cleanser until all makeup and debris are wiped away. Clean skin is an absolute must in order to prevent breakouts. If your skin is oily or acne prone, an oil cleanser with the right ingredients can work wonders at balancing your skin. If it’s more on the dry or combination side, a gel cleanser provides a nice lather without stripping any oils from your skin. The most important thing is to cleanse without stripping any of your skin’s natural oils, so anything that leaves your skin feeling squeaky clean is probably disrupting your acid mantle. A toner or hydrosol is also essential for your skin so that you can keep your acid mantle balanced. Many toners are made with witch hazel, which is a natural antiseptic. Cleansing and toning should be done both morning and evening.

exfoliate

I am going to strongly discourage you not to use a manual exfoliant if you typically use one (like a scrub, towel or anything abrasive). These are often too aggressive on your skin’s acid mantle and can actually cause breakouts to get worse. Larger granules can cause micro-tears on the skin, making it prone to further spreading of bacteria. Instead, look for an exfoliating mask to use no more than once per week. If you don’t have an exfoliating mask, I have a few of my recommendations at the bottom of the page. If you do have an exfoliating mask with enzymes, alpha or beta hydroxy acids, apply it as directed and enjoy knowing that your mask is already doing so much of the work for you - no scrubbing needed. Masks containing fruit enzymes like pumpkin are gentle but really effective at breaking down the ‘glue’ that holds skin cells together and helping them regenerate. Masking should generally be done once per week.

nourish your skin

Contrary to popular belief and how blemish treatments work, the last thing you want to do it completely dry out a breakout or apply paper strips on your nose that tear at your epidermis. Again, you don’t want to disrupt your acid mantle as it might already be out of balance. Stray away from products with alcohol, essential oils or anything with fragrance for that matter, comedogenic oils (especially anything with coconut oil or cocoa butter), and apple cider vinegar. Stick to nourishing ingredients that mimic oil production like jojoba oil and squalane (olive derived) and go for antibacterial ingredients like juniper, rose and goldenseal. Moisturizing should be done right after cleansing and toning while skin is slightly damp, both morning and evening.

Calming inflamed breakouts

If you have a breakout that is inflamed, there are a few easy ways to treat it at home. One option is to use cold therapy to help calm any redness. You can use a soaked tea bag like green tea or chamomile tea, place it in the refrigerator and once it’s cold, let it sit on top of the breakout for a few minutes. If you don’t like or want to use tea, dampen a washcloth with cold water, put an ice cube inside and wrap the cloth around it and hold the covered ice cube over the area for a few minutes.

Spot treatments are another option and can be used alone on clean skin or after applying a cold washcloth to your breakout. If you don’t have access to a spot treatment product, raw honey (or Manuka honey) is a natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredient. Just make sure it isn’t infused with anything. If you want to get resourceful in your kitchen and create a mask, combine raw honey with goat’s milk yogurt and finely ground rolled oats, keeping an equal ratio of dry and wet ingredients. You can also add ground dried chamomile for another anti-inflammatory benefit, which I find in the bulk section at my local health foods store. Apply all over to cleansed skin and let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse it off.

My favorite product to spot treat with is with the Botnia Fix-Zit mask. Just make sure you ONLY SPOT TREAT with the Fix-Zit mask rather than apply it all over your face. Here’s a pro tip for you: apply Botnia’s Replenishing Oil on your breakout, then apply the fix zit mask (mixed with water or a hydrosol) on top of the oil and let that sit overnight. Typically I would advise to never let your mask dry out or to use it longer than the directed time, but that oil barrier underneath acts as a layer of protection to prevent the sulfur from irritating your skin. Again, only spot treat.

leave it alone

My main and number one rule: DO NOT PICK. Picking can cause bacteria to spread, creating more breakouts. Squeezing too aggressively puts you at risk of pushing the breakout deeper into the skin causing more inflammation and possibly infection. Improper extracting can also extend the life of a breakout from days to weeks and cause scarring (aka PIH or post inflammatory hyperpigmentation) that may last for months. With blackheads, squeezing aggressively may cause blood vessels in the surrounding area to break, especially around your nose. I know it’s hard, but try to just let your skin be.

treat your skin with love

The main idea around this type of approach is to let go of the urge to act aggressively towards your skin and practice more tender love and care, even with those breakouts and blackheads. Try to see breakouts as your body communicating with you. It’s telling you in its own language that something is out of balance or not aligning. I know it’s difficult to completely let go of stress, especially now, but it can be one of the main culprits of breakouts. Other factors include diet, hormones, products, medications, poor sleep, genetics, even stuck emotions. The detective work can seem overwhelming, but please reach out to me or your local holistic esthetician if you need guidance. Slow beauty is a process, but for the long term health of your skin it’s worth the slow route.

Shop my recommendations for breakout and/or blackhead prone skin here: