Dealing with congestion and blocked pores – is one of those skin issue that affects everyone at one time or another.

I am going to take you through the whys and how’s – from the causes, to how to get rid of them and to what they actually are.

Let’s look at how to achieve glowing clear skin instead of having to battle your way through the inaccurate information online and being sold to you by untrained cosmeticians in retail stores who are trained by skincare companies trying to make a fortune out of helping your skin stay in need of loads of skincare.

So, let us dive into the world of pore blockage – also known as congestion or clogged pores. Let’s clear up the misinformation and educate you to help yourself.

You and your pores

Understanding how your pores function and why they sometimes get clogged is the most essential part of being able to keep your skin clear. Pores are those tiny openings on your skin’s surface that play a vital role in its health. They act as pathways for oil (sebum), sweat, and other substances to reach the skin’s surface, keeping it hydrated and regulating the skin and body’s temperature.

The process starts off in your skin’s sebaceous glands, where sebum – an oily substance – is produced. This sebum travels up through hair follicles and exits through pores onto your skin’s surface. Sweat, produced by sweat glands, also joins the party, helping cool your body down and rid it of toxins.

While pores are essential for maintaining healthy skin, they can become clogged with a buildup of oil, dead skin cells, and debris, leading to common skin concerns like blackheads, whiteheads, and acne.

How your pores become clogged … it’s not because your skin is dirty

When we talk about clogged pores, the technical term is a comedome -there are two types – open (which are blackheads) and closed (which are whiteheads).  Since our pores visibly sit on the surface of the skin it makes sense that people think that the pore gets clogged when external factors such as dirt and debris get inside them and clog them up.

Contrary to popular belief, dirt and pollution aren’t the main culprits. Pore congestion happens beneath the skin’s surface, mostly due to a buildup of dead skin cells and sebum.

While maintaining a clean and healthy skincare routine is important, factors beyond hygiene contribute massively to the formation of comedones – hormonal fluctuations, genetic predispositions, and lifestyle habits. In fact, excess hygiene (over-cleansing, use of anti-bacterial products etc) can make the problem worse – especially if the skin’s sebum production becomes unbalanced (which foaming cleansers, exfoliating cleansers and facial wipes do).

Is your pore actually clogged?

Ever look closely at your nose in the mirror and wonder what those tiny darker spots are? Generally, we think they are blackheads or clogged pores and it’s time to reach for the pore strips or get scrubbing – but this causes more harm than good.

Blackheads occur when dead skin cells and sebum block the opening of the pore, causing it to dilate and bring the oil to the surface. Once the oil makes contact with the air it oxidises, causing the darker/ blackish colour. This build up will also often cause inflammation and the pore will be over-dilated.

The thing is – not every darkish pore on your face is a blackhead or open comedome. In fact, most slightly darker spots are just your natural, healthy pores – because all pores contain oil or what we call Sebaceous filaments.

Sebaceous filaments are often misunderstood as blackheads, but they are actually a natural part of the skin’s anatomy. These tiny, tube-like structures are found in hair follicles and are lined with sebaceous glands that produce oil (sebum) to keep the skin moisturized.

Unlike blackheads, which are a buildup of oil, dead skin cells, and bacteria, sebaceous filaments are primarily composed of sebum. While they may appear as small, pin-like dots on the nose, chin, and forehead, sebaceous filaments are typically lighter in colour and softer in texture than blackheads.

There’s a misconception that these need to be permanently eliminated to keep the pores clear. Your skin needs these to function correctly. By removing these, either through squeezing, aggressive exfoliation methods, pore-strips, or just excessive cleansing – you are disrupting the skins healthy behaviour.

This will cause dehydration, stimulate the skin to produce more oil, and reduce the pore’s elasticity, causing it to become more dilated over time. 

Skincare and your pores

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. “I used product x the other day. It clogged my pores and gave me breakouts.”

We’ve all had that product that we blame for clogging our pores and causing breakouts and I often see customers swap from one product to another product to another product continually because of this. 

But did you know that it takes weeks for comedones to form? So, that breakout you’re experiencing might have been brewing beneath the surface for a while.

Research estimates that a comedome tends to form over a period of 4-6 weeks. This means, when introducing a new product in your routine – it’s highly unlikely that the product will suddenly seal off your pores and give you a breakout a few days later. 

Yes, long term use of certain comedogenic ingredients – (man-made oils and certain chemical compounds in cosmetics) can exacerbate comedones and should be avoided. Especially if you have oily/ combination skin. But often it’s not the skincare that is ‘clogging the pore’ – it’s likely that broader, more holistic issues are the actual cause of pore congestion. 

Secondly, allow yourself time to properly test new products/ skincare routines. Any fixes for congested pores are likely to take much longer than you might expect. The body takes time to resolve issues – it’s why I always recommend using a new product for 4-6 weeks to best understand how your skin responds to it.

So how do I get rid of Clogged Pores?

Most importantly – understand that we will all get a blackhead or whitehead from time to time. It’s a natural side effect of how our skin operates. However – there are steps to minimise the frequency and severity of comedomes. 

1. Reset your skin first and focus on your skin barrier
   Before you reach for the next new trending active ingredient on TikTok – pause. You want to focus on treating the cause, not the symptom. The starting point should be ensuring your skin barrier is healthy and happy. This means removing everything from your routine for a few days to allow the skin to reset. Take the weekend. Don’t use any makeup – just cleanse gently with water and a muslin face cloth and allow your skin to self-regulate for a few days. Then move on to rebuilding your skincare routine from there.
2. Next step – Regulate your sebum levels
   Remember that comedomes form deeper in the skin as sebum and skin cells build up. Excess sebum production can cause more frequent and severe formation of comedomes (it’s also why hormonal fluctuations have a large part to play). Your objective is to limit the skin’s over-production of sebum. Again – this starts with the skin barrier – if this is compromised your skin will be prone to dehydration and produce excess oil to protect itself. Start with a simple routine that encourages balanced and healthy sebum levels – a 3 minute oil cleansing session daily removed with warm water and a muslin face cloth is all your skin needs at first – if your skin feels dry, apply another fine coat of oil to stop the oil glands from producing more oil.
3. Finish by routinely helping your skin remove dead skin cells
   Your objective is to help your dead skin cells slough away properly rather than sticking to themselves and causing blockages. Exfoliation is key to this, but you need to be careful to avoid causing excess wear and tear on the skin and further disrupting your skin barrier. I recommend not exfoliating for at least three weeks before introducing exfoliation. Once you’re ready to introduce this step – focus on gentle physical exfoliation to break down the dead skin cells twice weekly.
4. In conclusion, understanding and caring for your pores is essential for achieving clear, healthy skin. By following the tips and strategies outlined in this guide and incorporating The Everything Skin Rangeproducts into your skincare routine, you can minimize pore concerns, improve skin texture, and achieve a radiant complexion that glows with health and vitality. Remember, skincare is a journey, so be patient and consistent in your efforts. With the right approach you can unlock the secrets to flawless, beautiful skin. Dealing with congestion and blocked pores.

If you need help achieve glowing skin – book a glowing skin and wellness consultation via zoom with me!

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Yvette xx

Thank you for reading my blog!

Hi! 

I am Yvette van Schie, I am a holistic beauty therapist, skin nutritionist, skincare developer and makeup artist. I am passionate about sharing real beauty advice with a whack of reality.

For over 30 years I have worked with the best in the beauty and health industry as a trainer, educator  and product formulator and I still do – so my knowledge is diverse – I am not blinkered when sharing my information with you because everyone I speak to shares what they know, and I turn it into easy to digest information because I want my readers to feel empowered to make their own decisions and to feel that they are fully in control of their beauty and well being.