Pore Me
March 20, 2010 9:24 AM Subscribe
Ouch! Is pore extraction good for my skin?
I had a facial for the first time recently, and the facialist used a metal implement to extract various yucky things from my pores. It hurt, but my pores do look a bit better.
Question: is this good for my skin, long-term? Should I do this "every few months," as she suggests? Or am I causing damage to the pores by, ew, forcing things out of them?
(At this point she cringes in grossness and backs slowly away from the keyboard.)
I had a facial for the first time recently, and the facialist used a metal implement to extract various yucky things from my pores. It hurt, but my pores do look a bit better.
Question: is this good for my skin, long-term? Should I do this "every few months," as she suggests? Or am I causing damage to the pores by, ew, forcing things out of them?
(At this point she cringes in grossness and backs slowly away from the keyboard.)
As someone with acne-prone skin, I typically ask the facialist to skip extractions. Usually they hurt too much and really aggravate my skin, causing more breakouts the next day. There's no point in getting a treatment that makes me look worse than normal.
I'd say it depends on the skill level of the facialist. If they're really good, it's possible to get virtually painless extractions. If they're not, they CAN damage your skin (see this and this). After some unpleasant experiences, I just prefer not to take my chances.
posted by curiouskitty at 10:07 AM on March 20, 2010
I'd say it depends on the skill level of the facialist. If they're really good, it's possible to get virtually painless extractions. If they're not, they CAN damage your skin (see this and this). After some unpleasant experiences, I just prefer not to take my chances.
posted by curiouskitty at 10:07 AM on March 20, 2010
I don't know whether or not you're talking about black heads. I used an implement to remove them a few years ago, and marks were left. I don't know about a proper solution to them, but I don't recommend removing them with an implement.
posted by jpcooper at 4:38 PM on March 20, 2010
posted by jpcooper at 4:38 PM on March 20, 2010
Best answer: A good aesthetician can work wonders, and doing extractions can make a big difference in some people's skin. A bad aesthetician can fuck up your skin and give you infections.
Every few months is maybe a bit of an up-sell. I go perhaps quarterly, but I love and trust my aesthetician and love my visits (even though the extractions aren't the fun part.) I find that twice a year does improve my skin overall, though. Extractions are not necessarily de rigeur, though, and a lot of aestheticians don't even do them as part of a standard facial.
posted by desuetude at 8:29 PM on March 20, 2010
Every few months is maybe a bit of an up-sell. I go perhaps quarterly, but I love and trust my aesthetician and love my visits (even though the extractions aren't the fun part.) I find that twice a year does improve my skin overall, though. Extractions are not necessarily de rigeur, though, and a lot of aestheticians don't even do them as part of a standard facial.
posted by desuetude at 8:29 PM on March 20, 2010
An inept esthetician left me with a clean pore, but an ugly broken capillary next to my nose. That broken capillary was there for several years. My dermatologist eventually removed that broken capillary with a laser zap.
Overall, I'd say to leave them alone.
posted by 26.2 at 11:23 AM on March 21, 2010
Overall, I'd say to leave them alone.
posted by 26.2 at 11:23 AM on March 21, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Ah, but are you damaging your pores by leaving the gunk in there? Glancing at my own face in a mirror, I can state firmly: Probably!
posted by Sys Rq at 9:50 AM on March 20, 2010