A word on Extractions (updated 12/6/13)

I want to take the moment to speak about extractions. I have mentioned this word a few times already. Please do not use a comedo extractor tool unless you are trained to use one. Why? Because you can damage your skin using them incorrectly.

Extracting should be done gently and with patience. If you extract your blackheads with your finger nails that leave crescent moon shapes all over your face...please stop. I cannot stress to everyone just how delicate your face really is. Doing this stresses and damages the other layers of your skin which can lead to bruising, blood, scars, brown spots. If you see blood it means a blood vessel has been ruptured. While your not going to die from this, it isn't a great thing either. Try to extract without seeing blood.

Please have someone extract for you OR if your going to do yourself use the toilet paper or Q-tip method. ALL EXTRACTIONS ARE EASIER TO DO ONCE THE FACE HAS BEEN STEAMED! What this means is the best time to do it is right after a nice warm/hot shower. This is because the heat as relaxed and opened the pores better. When you go to a spa to get extractions done, they do it after applying steam (vaporized water) to your face. ( Or a hot towel if your claustrophobic)
For the Q-tip method simply take 2 Q-tips and try to squeeze out your blackhead/whitehead. Use 2 Q-tips per blackhead/whitehead.

For the toilet paper method simple wrap a little TP around your index fingers (or whichever fingers you use to extract with) to wiggle and work your blackheads out. I prefer this method most times. It works great on the nose area too! Just be careful to not over-do it. You don't want to scab and flake the skin. When finished extracting PLEASE USE A TONER. You have caused sebum to surface by squeezing, your skin is annoyed and most likely red. Please calm it and cleanse the sebum off without having to rewash and strip your skin too much. A toner will re-balance your skin and love you for it.

Welcome to Dermalogica's scaling fluid! I do not believe that this is available for retail but if you go to a spa that carries this line or does facials with this line, you can have this. It is designed to soften the skin and dissolve sebum. This is applied with a brush to create a light foam. It is left on the skin for approximately 5-10 minutes while being steamed. When it comes time to extract, blackheads come out with great ease. It's great because it is less painful for the client to endure as extractions are not usually a relaxing procedure.