I've had these things on my nose ever since my skin went to hell in my late 20s(37 now) and they just get worse every year thanks to my huge pores.

I've been using retin-a .05 for probably 6 months with no change. I've done 30% salicylic peels only to have them come back within days. Every night i wipe with 2% salicylic pads. I have a 10% salicylic/lactic combo that i recently started but haven't seen any change. Same with the super cp. Nose strips? Just rips off my skin and leaves the plugs intact. The only thing that gets them out is a wire loop and that is just scarring up my nose. Am I just doomed to have these damn things the rest of my life?

Hi GP,

Unfortunately, even many healthy skin types continually need to clean out the pores on their nose. You may need to give it more time using your CPs in conjunction with your Retin-A & SA. I really don't like those strips either... ... Every time I try them I end up tossing them. The CPs will help to shrink the pores making the blackheads less noticeable. You will probably have to continue on a weekly basis to manually keep clean with your loop & exfoliating cloth or scrubs.

Overall in time you will notice the difference if you continue to work on it...

Honestly, I think all of these skin products just make my skin look worse. Since starting, the only thing I've seen more of is wrinkles appearing

You may need more focus on other items in your life.

Try taking 2 grams of both salmon oil and flaxseed oil each day.

Also, aerobic exercise at least 30 minute three times weekly improves skin by increasing blood circulation in the skin.


These are general starting instructions for rebuilding skin. But
everyone's skin is different, so it may take some experimenting to find
what works best for yourself.

The process of rebuilding skin with our method is slow, but not
irritating. Reducing wrinkles and skin lesions is much slower. But even
very strong Retin-A takes about 2 years to reduce major wrinkles at the
price of chronic redness and irritation.

Look at http://www.reverseskinaging.com/pictures.html and
http://reverseskinaging.com/nasolabial.html and read the comments.

For your face.....

Our serums work best on oily skin areas like the T-Zone and the creams
are best for drier skin areas. The fastest actions are on general skin
tone and "glow".

The best results for wrinkle reduction, pore reduction, and skin
tightening that that we hear from our clients are:

1.Use a very mild cleanser such our Gentle Clean. Do not over cleanse
your skin. Use biological healing oils such as squalane or emu oil to
remove make up.

2.Our Serums are best on sensitive skin or oily outbreak-prone skin. Our
creams work best of dryer skin areas. Sebum Be Gone helps reduce excess
facial sebum.

3.In the morning, use CP Serum in the morning followed by Emu Oil-S for
Skin. Start with 2 drops of each daily for your face and increase the
amount slowly. If your skin feels oily, blot off the excess oil with a
tissue. Later you might change to Super CP Serum.

4.For your eyes, read http://store.reverseskinaging....s.asp?ProductCode=26 This is a
difficult area but it can be rebuilt and the skin around the eyes tightened.

5.At night, you might alternate Exfol Cream or our new LacSal Cream and
Protect & Restore #3 - a high retinol cream. If you have problems with
acne, then use Retinol-free P&R#2.

6.Many women also use Super Cop at night, but you should use the other
products before you move to this very strong product.

7.The Day Cover can be used for protection when outside.

8.SRCPs and retinoic acid applied together often work very well and
gives a stronger action than SRCPs alone.

9.Daily supplements of 1 gram Vitamin C and 1 gram MSM also help rebuild
skin proteins. 1 gram of Flaxseed Oil Borage Oil or Primrose Oil, which contains high
levels of gamma linolenic acid, helps some people with chronic dermatitis.

10.Stress inhibits skin renewal and skin repair by increasing blood
cortisol. Taking 50 to 100 mgs daily of DHEA for a few months may help
block the cortisol effect and stimulates skin repair.

11.Regular aerobic exercise floods more blood into the skin and speeds
skin repair and scar reduction.

12.Microdermabrasion cloths (cost about $10) often help remove older skin.

13. Skin needle rollers also can help skin remodeling. But do not use them
more than every 1 or 2 weeks. Be certain to effectively wash the rollers
after use and sterilize it before further use.

Also take a look at http://reverseskinaging.com/tighten.html

I'll give the super cp a while and see if that helps. Most of the other stuff I have already been doing.

Have you tried steaming your skin for 10-15 minutes to help loosen the blackhead plugs? (No special equipment needed - you can pour boiling water into a bowl, and then hold a towel over your head.) Following that with a clay mask can help draw the plugs out further - try a quality clay like French green clay or bentonite. I've also had luck with using a peel-off mask (the type you can get at a drugstore, like Freeman) right after a clay mask on my nose area. Nose strips never worked for me either - they were just painful, and peel-off masks weren't effective on my nose blackheads unless they followed the clay mask. A daily exfoliant can then help keep them under control. For some reason, salicylic acid on its own doesn't do a lot for me - a glycolic/salicylic mixture is more effective for my skin. If you've had the blackheads for a while, it may take some time to get them extracted - but the steaming/clay mask/peel-off mask steps are worth a try. When I first started doing that, it helped to remove a lot of plugs - I would see them in the peel-off mask when I removed it from my nose. Over time, there were fewer for the mask to grab.

Anything to topically treat acne issues, however, will only be a band aid - have you ever discussed them with a doctor to see whether they are a symptom for anything else? I recently started visiting a naturopath to try to get to the bottom of my acne issues. Dermatologists I've gone to in the past tend to want to just treat the symptoms with antibiotics or a topical, whereas naturopaths tend to be more like investigators who want to find the cause for the symptoms. I'm curious how the following things may or may not be related to my acne: hormone levels, potential thyroid issues, digestive issues, nutrition, and food allergies/sensitivities.

Anyway, I hope you find a resolution - I definitely understand the frustration of dealing with acne in the late 30s.

Have you tried OCM otherwise called the Oil Cleansing Method? Basically, washing your face with oil. I am currently using a mixture of 5% castor oil and 95% of Sunflower oil with a few drops of Lavender Oil. As long as the oil is wiped off well it does not cause breakouts. To remove you would use a hot towel and let it cool on your face then wipe off. I have dry skin but do have a few small black heads on my nose and it helps. You can google the method if you are interested. I have been doing it for about two or three months now and love it. It is also good to use in conjunction with the facial steaming mentioned above.

Yes, Steaming can be very beneficial.

One of tricks to keeping my pores clear back in my 20's was to steam my face with "Swiss Criss" which is actually an herbal laxative... ... But, I found that used as an herbal steam bath for the face gives very nice results...

Keeping your pores clear is something that you will probably have to do forever, but I have found that with continued use of CPs that the actual pore size is significantly reduced making clogged pores less of a problem.

As my Mom always says "Girls & I'll add Boys you have to suffer to be beautiful"...I always say "You at least have to try then continue to work on it"...

I've tried using castor oil and didn't really see any improvement. As for steaming, I've been trying a wash cloth with warm water. Jury is out on that one. I might try one of those masks. How long before I should expect anything from the CPs?

GP,

If you are very young, steaming can trigger breakouts for some, but I have always found that it helped to loosen the debris.

Your SA Pads are crucial to keeping the pores clear. As time goes on you will find that CPs help to reduce the size of the pores. Keep in mind though, that the pores on your nose will always be bigger than the rest of your face.

Take a look at the "celebrity Thread" when you get a chance & you will find that there are many famous faces who struggle with the same kind of thing.

Overall, I think daily exfoliation of some sort for oily skin types is KEY to keeping your pores clear. You just can't use too many stripping products all at the same time.

Well, I'm soon to be 38. The only issue I have is the huge nose pores. This is what I do daily:

am: wash with cleanser, super cp, emu oil

pm: soak face with warm cloth and rub on some castor oil on nose, wash with cleanser, rub on some 10% SA(nose only), .05 retin-a

Once per week I do a manual scrub with some exfoliate crystals.

Is that reasonable or too much?

Many of our clients have said their facial pores became smaller after using CPs.

Actually, over the years i have noticed more blackheads then i ever had when i was young.

I use Lac Sal, both serum (when it is hot and i sweat a lot) and cream (New Mexico is notoriously dry, the cream helps keep my skin hydrated, both summer and winter).

for some reason, i know not why, this helps to keep the BH situation under control. i still have to clean them out periodically, but it is easier and quicker then when i am not using it.

I do not have a big problem with black heads but do get some small ones around the nose area. I have been doing OCM otherwise known as the Oil Cleansing Method and it has helped. I have probably not used any type of soap on my face for two months now. I would reccomend researching it.

Hi slh,

Yes, that is intersting your mention again of OCM. I use DCH Olive Oil Cleanser 1st at night followed by my gentle cleanser. I tried using the Olive Oil Cleanser alone, but it did not seem to a good job by itself.

Having an oil skin type, I like many always feared the thought of oil on my skin... ...but have learned (in my old age) that "oil fights oil"...and I also could NOT live without my Emu...

I reasearched your method & have found that castor oil was perhaps the missing link for me... ... It has the anti-infammatory & cleansing, drawing properties & the safflower -or- EVOO is the balancer.

I will admit having an oily, breakout prone skin type, to overcleansing my skin at times trying to battle the culprits which in turn can cause more oil-production & again the "Catch 22 effect"... ...

I will try your "Oil Cleansing Method" with a blend of 25% Castor Oil & 75% Safflower with no other cleansers like yourself & see what kind of difference that MAY make, hopefully pushing me to the next level with my skin.

Once again, I am a girl on a mission... ...out to the health food store I go!

Thanks slh for your insight... ...Another reason to live...

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

thank you stoney .I shall try it

The castor oil is key as that is the main cleansing oil. I actually went out and bought some of the other oils to mix in as well - jojoba, grapeseed and avacado and seemed to do just as well as the castor and sunflower combo I used. I would recommend to someone just trying it not to worry about adding anything but to make sure you like this method of cleansing. My mother is trying it now and she says her skin looks better. I also had my sister visiting last weekend and she tried it along with my neice and everyone really liked it and I beleive my sister is going to try using this method as well. Any feedback from your experience yet?

Yes slh, I think you are RIGHT about castor oil being the KEY.

I made a blend of 25% Castor & 75% Sunflower Seed Oil. I will use this the evenings as my sole face wash & steam the pores open with a HOT washcloth.

Now that I have very few actual scarred pores left under my skin (which is a lot harder to deal with), my goal is to keep my pores as clear as possible. I have noticed since adding Retin-A a few times a week, my skin SEEMS to have more oil in it. Also, I think my skin is acting like a younger person these days, not just in how it looks but also how it feels...soft, smooth, supple, but with a little more oil in it.

I am hoping that this will be the answer to help pull some of that oil to the surface to prevent clogging.

Finally, I am getting a chance to concentrate on maintaining my skin as opposed to the grueling task of dealing with my BP Bump NIGHTMARE..."OLD DEMONS"...Like the "Wicked Witch of the West", I believe I have liquidated them with my CPs & Broomstick (ROLLER)... ...

...and I am NOT taking off those ruby slippers...

GodParticle:
How long do you spend rubbing the castor oil in? I just started researching OCM after it was mentioned in this thread, and have been reading a few other forum discussions about it. It sounds like people have success with removing blackheads using OCM especially when they spend several minutes rubbing the oil in. I guess it can take a while for the oil to dissolve the blackheads. Also, do you mix in any other oils with the castor oil? Perhaps adding another oil like jojoba oil might help.

As a side note on the OCM...

I added some Tea Tree Oil to my blend to work as a disinfetant.

The idea behind this method isn't to actually dissolve the blackheads (you will still have to manually remove them) BUT, to prevent them from forming in the 1st place once the skin starts to function better. The blend should help to keep the oil moving towards the surface so it does NOT get trapped forming the nasty clogs.

You will still need to use your Hydroxys to dislodge & loosen any existing debris. I am seeing a noticeable difference each day as I work on cleaning out the existing traps.

Slh, your skin MUST look GREAT as you have been using this method for a few months along with your CPs & are lucky enough to be someone who does not have a pore problem to begin with. MANY of us more oily skin will have to work on it much harder, but with continued use I'm hoping to get my skin to look as good as Slh's ...as if I never had a pore problem.

Also, this method is nice since it does not result in the degradation of the skin barrier. I will continue to use a weekly exfoliating scrub on my face as well... ...and forever continue to work on my skin which should get easier & easier.