loops on a stick

May 17, 2009 8:59 PM

What is this tool used for?
posted by Jason and Laszlo to clothing, beauty, & fashion (18 comments total)

Ummm...I definitely don't own one, but I think it's used for the removal of pimples. Saw one at a CVS.
posted by HeroZero at 9:02 PM on May 17 [1 favorite]

Looks like a blackhead extractor to me.
posted by pluckemin at 9:02 PM on May 17 [1 favorite]

It's for pottery. I think it's for edging?
posted by puckish at 9:03 PM on May 17 [1 favorite]

Seconding pottery usage
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 9:05 PM on May 17

It is, indeed, a zit killer! Fabulous thing to have in one's possession.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:05 PM on May 17 [2 favorites]

The wire pottery tool others are thinking of is larger.

That is a blackhead/blemish remover. They're genius.
posted by elsietheeel at 9:07 PM on May 17 [1 favorite]

Dumb piggyback question: How in the world does that thing work on zits?
posted by Burhanistan at 9:18 PM on May 17

i believe fingers work can work on zits, but i always remember my sister having a blackhead remover.
posted by Frasermoo at 9:21 PM on May 17

it didn't look like that though
posted by Frasermoo at 9:22 PM on May 17

The best way I've seen it used is during a facial. The facialist steams your face for at least 10 minutes, then uses the tool by pushing it against your skin at the base of the blackhead, and causes the blackhead to be squeezed. I have one myself and recommend using it only after a shower, after your skin has been well hydrated, to avoid causing scarring or worse, pushing the blackhead and bacteria further into the skin.
posted by choochoo at 9:22 PM on May 17

An earwax pick.
posted by rotifer at 9:28 PM on May 17

Blackhead remover that can double as a pottery tool?
posted by puritycontrol at 9:40 PM on May 17

Well, anything with a sharp or pointed edge can be a pottery tool.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:45 PM on May 17

I've seen small pottery tools like that, and though, yeah, they're typically larger, people make pots of all sizes, and likewise pottery tools.
posted by salvia at 9:56 PM on May 17

It's a blackhead remover. I have that exact one. It works too.
posted by dogmom at 4:35 AM on May 18

It could also be a bodkin, which is a sewing tool designed for threading elastic (or whatever) through a casing.
posted by DrGail at 4:47 AM on May 18

2nding the ear wax removal tool
posted by patnok at 8:51 AM on May 18

I don't know about the pimple thing, but I have a few of these for pottery-- they're trimming tools. (elsietheeel-- they can be bigger, but the picture you linked to shows trimming tools the same size as the tool in question.)

After you've thrown your pot on the wheel and it's dried out a bit, you trim a foot into it. It's both decorative (makes the piece look finished) and it takes away the excess clay that makes the piece heavy. This is a pretty lame video that shows how to do it; 1:41 shows the tool in question.
posted by veryhappyheidi at 4:01 PM on May 19