How to Minimize & Clean Your Pores

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FiercelyCleanPores #CollectiveBias

Everyone has that one skin problem that never seems to go away. For some women, it’s acne that lasts well past their teenage years. For others, it could be super sensitive skin that turns red and blotchy at the sight of any makeup product. For me, it’s my visible pores. Now you can’t physically “reduce” the size of your pores, but you can help to minimize the appearance of them by keeping them clean and free of blackheads.

Most of us get a blackhead from time-to-time — we are human, after all. And we think the best way to get rid of them is to face ourselves in the 10x magnification mirror (scary stuff) and pick and push at our pores to get the blackheads out. I will admit, the feeling of defeat after squeezing out a blackhead is pretty awesome, but it leaves my skin red, raw, inflamed. Not cute.

So what should we all be doing instead? Here’s a few steps to help minimize the appearance of your pores.

Use products specifically made to minimize & clean pores. 

I know it sounds easy enough, but so many people think simply washing off their makeup at night will lead to great skin. Just like I mentioned earlier, we all have our own problem areas when it comes to our skin. So you should use products made specifically for that problem area. This is where Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips come in. These strips instantly unclog pores by removing dirt, oil and nasty blackheads for the deepest clean. One strip works to remove a week’s worth of dirt and gunk that cause clogged pores in just 10 minutes.

You’re likely familiar with these pore strips (they’ve been a part of my weekly skincare routine since high school), but probably not that they have new, limited-edition patterns. I headed over to Walmart (where the strips are exclusively sold) to pick up these Limited Edition Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips in Zebra and Cheetah prints. How cute are they?

Keep a routine. 

Using skincare products on a random, one-off basis isn’t going to get you the results you were hoping for. You need to follow the directions and apply as often as you need for the product to work. With the Bioré Cleansing Strips, all it takes is 10 minutes each week (with continued use) for the appearance of your pores to be visibly reduced. (I like to put mine on while I catch up on Vanderpump Rules and time it so I remove the strips right when a commercial comes on.) After the 10 minutes is up, you peel them off and get to look at all the gross blackheads and whiteheads that the strips pulled out. We all have 10 minutes a week of free time to dedicate to our skin, right?

For more ideas on how to use the Bioré Cleansing Strips in your skincare routine, click here.