lunchtime buy

A Blackhead Remover for Squeamish People

Photo: Courtesy of the brand.

I prefer all acne situations to be contracted out to a third party. Please don’t make me excavate my own blackheads. It’s not that I don’t want clear skin — it’s that I categorize pimple-popping videos as part of the horror genre. I get no grisly pleasure from pruning my skin after a steamy shower. It’s purely a chore.

I still want my blackheads to go away, though, which is why I’ve tried every single blackhead product on the market. Many are useless; some work just okay. But I have been loving an unusual little product from Clinique: The Blackhead Solutions Self-heating Blackhead Extractor. (It has “blackhead” in the name twice, so you know it’s confident it can do the job.)

Basically, it’s a salicylic acid mask. Apply a bit to your spottiest area (for me, that’s my nose) and after a few seconds, the mask, which contains tiny exfoliating bits, subtly warms up to a soothing temperature. Yes — this mask comes in hot and gets a little steamy.

Next, take the product’s nubby-ended applicator, which looks a bit like an attachment you’d find in Babeland, and use that to further massage in the formula. If you feel a bit like you’re rubbing a textured vibrator (switched to Off of course) and rubbing it all over your face in some hot goo, you’re doing it right. But it works! The combination of the heat and exfoliation helps dislodge and lift up pore gunk and erase blackheads, all without squeezing, prodding, or any kind of popping.

Essentially, this mask is an efficient hit man for blackhead murder, like Jodie Comer in Killing Eve. I especially recommend it after a shower when the dirt in your pores is particularly ready and waiting to be harvested. Go forth and reap.

A Blackhead Remover for Squeamish People