How to Unclog Your Pores with Three Solutions

When your pores clog, they become bigger due to the substances that build up inside them. This can lead to blackheads.
How to Unclog Your Pores with Three Solutions

Last update: 01 August, 2022

Pores tend to become clogged due to inadequate cleaning, which causes fat, sweat, and dirt to accumulate. In this article, you’ll discover how to unclog your pores with some natural solutions.

What Happens When Your Pores Clog?

When your pores clog, they become bigger due to the substances that build up inside them. This can lead to blackheads.

When your pores are dilated, they’re much more noticeable. This is very unsightly and requires a range of solutions to thoroughly clean your skin and unclog them. Your regular skin cleansing routine won’t do it in these cases.

Solutions to Unclog Your Pores

A woman using a facial brush.

Exfoliating helps remove old skin cells and remains.

People often try to unclog their pores by scrubbing their skin with soap or using a facial brush. However, these things won’t yield the desired results.

There are many more effective solutions that will help you to unclog your pores and remove any accumulated dirt without irritating your skin. Here are three natural solutions that you should put into practice in order to get the desired results.

This article may interest you: Eliminate Skin Impurities with These 6 Facial Masks

1. Herbal Facial Steam

This is one of the best ways to unclog your pores. It’s an essential step that will help open your pores, thus making them a lot easier to clean. If you skip this step, it’ll be very difficult for you to thoroughly clean your pores and release all the accumulated dirt.

As pointed out by Facial Techniques and Their Impact on Learning Cosmetology (a Spanish study), steam opens your pores and sensitizes your skin.

  • You must only use steam on your face for about five minutes.
  • You can add chamomile, lemon balm, or even lavender to the water you use to steam your face.

2. Hot Compresses

A woman cleaning her skin.

Heat helps open pores to allow you to clean them appropriately.

After five minutes of steaming your face, you should carefully clean your pores. In case the pores of a particular area – such as the nose – aren’t open enough, you can use a hot compress.

Soak the compress in the water you used to make the facial steam and apply it on the affected area for a few minutes. Then, repeat the procedure with tissues to finally remove any blackhead you may have.

3. A Clay Mask to Unclog Your Pores

This is the last step after completing the first two. Clay masks leave the skin very smooth, clean, and renewed. However, it’s important to not leave the mask on your face for too long, because it can irritate it and damage it if you have sensitive skin.

Although you can find many different clay masks in any supermarket, you can also make your own at home. We recommend not applying this mask more than once every 15 days.

This article may interest you: Natural Treatments for Enlarged Pores

The Importance of Facial Cleansing

A woman washing her face.

Daily facial cleansing prevents the clogging of the pores, aids skin regeneration, and minimizes conditions such as acne.

Apart from the pore unclogging solutions we mentioned above, it’s essential to bear two basic tips in mind:

  1. Clean your skin every night. It’s best to clean it at this time of day rather than in the mornings, because skin regenerates at night.
  2. Another tip we want to share with you is that it’s very important to remove all your makeup. If you don’t clean your skin appropriately, you may leave traces of makeup on your face. This is very harmful, as it clogs pores and doesn’t let the skin breathe.

Acquiring these good habits will prevent unsightly blackheads from appearing on your skin. In addition, a good facial cleansing routine will help prevent premature skin aging and the appearance of premature wrinkles due to poor skin care.

How do you care for your skin? Do you clean it appropriately?


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Mora Ochoa, M., Savigñon, O., Rosa, A., González Gross, T. M., & Castro Mela, I. (2010). El sol:¿ enemigo de nuestra piel?. Medisan14(6), 0-0.
  • Pérez, J. P., Comas, L. V., & Ramos, P. P. (2011). Diseño y desarrollo de dos mascarillas faciales para el acné con quitina como sustancia bioactiva. Revista Cubana de Farmacia45(2), 251-263.
  • Vila, M. A. B. (2014). Técnicas de higiene facial y corporal. Ediciones Paraninfo, SA.

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.