The best thing about being a generation that lives online is that we have access to all wakes of life. New information is always available at our fingertips and while that’s mostly a good thing, the over-saturation of information can lead to some absurd hacks.
Recently, as I scrolled Instagram, I came across an alleged ‘blackhead removal‘ hack. As someone with pores you can see from the moon, I was intrigued until I actually saw what the hack was. In a short video, hairstylist and makeup artist Ambika Pillai can be seen dragging a tongue cleaner across her spotless face as she says, “(This is the) quickest, most effective and cheapest hack I have ever, ever come up with!”
She starts by sterilising a tongue cleaner and pulling it against her skin. Apparently, there are two ways you can do this, with some face wash or on plain, bare skin.
Then she recommends going in with a face pack, mainly to close the open and irritated pores. After keeping it on for twenty minutes, she washes it off for “glowing skin”.
Should I Be Raking A Tongue Cleaner Over My Face?
If you have enough blackheads to try a random DIY, your skin is probably as sensitive as a man arguing about equal pay. Like me, you’ve already tried the nose strips (sad fail), the egg masks (painful) and the manual extraction (why did no one stop me?). This is a last-ditch effort to get that shiny clear nose everyone on the internet seems to have.
Now, I say this so seriously. Do not rake a sterilised tongue cleaner across your face – doesn’t matter if you’re using it with a face wash or following up with a clay mask. Irritating the bumps will only make them worse.
There are a few reasons for this: first, the tongue cleaner will 100% increase the spread of bacteria. Second, the edge is too blunt to remove blackheads safely. Third, there is no such thing as ‘blackhead-prone skin’. By this, I mean that if you have blackheads, you probably also have those tiny bumps and whiteheads that won’t budge no matter how hard you pull. Using force might cause bleeding and scarring – both equally bad and upsetting to go through.
What Should I Do Instead?
Instead, if you’re struggling with blackheads there are quite a few non-invasive products you can use. I personally really love salicylic acid, which I use in addition to a glycolic acid toner.
Another good purchase is an AHA/BHA mask. These are concentrated masks with a serum-type consistency. Just keep it on for a few minutes according to what the package says and wash it off to reveal glowing, exfoliated skin.
If you don’t want to commit to an extensive exfoliation routine, there are a series of different cleansers and face washes that will gently exfoliate your face without stripping it off natural oils.
While the creativity behind the tongue cleaner hack is pretty commendable, it’s crucial to approach these things with caution. Your quest for flawless skin shouldn’t lead you down a path that could potentially harm more than help. So put it down girl, get a bottle of salicylic acid instead.
Featured Image: Pexels
