Do Pore Strips Work?

Among the most heavily promoted products for acne care is the pore strip. A pore strip is a piece of cloth with some kind of sticky glue on it. You put them on your face, wait a few minutes for them to dry, and then pull them off, hoping you also pull off a blackhead. But do pore strips really work?

Many people are favorably impressed the first time they use pore strips. The hairspray-like ingredient on the back of the strip latches on to the black, oxidized top layer of sebum that clogs the pore and makes the blackhead black. The problem is, pore strips make skin look better without solving the literally underlying problem.

Even worse, most brands of pore strips warn that if they get stuck on, you should wet them to loosen. Stuck on? Doesn't that mean that they could pull off healthy skin? Unfortunately, it usually does. And there are even worse side effects for skin affected by disease.

It is tempting to use pore strips wherever you have a skin breakout. That's especially true if you have invested hundreds or even thousands of dollars in acne treatment with Accutane, Retin-A, Renova, Differin, AHAs, BHAs, or facial peels. But the simple fact is, pore strips are too dangerous to use on skin that has been treated with any prescription acne drug, with AHAs, with BHAs, or with peels. You also risk serious and disfiguring skin damage if you use pore strips on skin affects with eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, or seborrhea, or if you have naturally thin skin.