Nobody likes having blackheads. They’re unattractive, seemingly impossible to remove, and can morph into inflamed pimples that make you want to hide your face forever. I still get blackheads (so unfair,) so when I tried this homemade blackhead remover, I knew I wanted to feature it here on the blog. I’m sure I’m not the only one who struggles with stubborn blackheads, so I hope you find this as useful as I did!
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How It Works
There are three main cleansing ingredients in this treatment: lemon, honey, and baking soda. Each of these ingredients has its own unique properties that can benefit your skin. Lemon juice is antibacterial and can help even out your skin tone. Honey moisturizes the skin and soothes and heals irritation. And finally, baking soda adds some exfoliation into the mix, helping to slough off dead skin cells and expose the fresh and bright skin underneath.
After the mixture is applied to the skin, you use a warm, wet towel to steam your face. The steam relaxes your pores, allowing the mixture to move in and dislodge dirt, bacteria, and those pesky blackheads.
Here’s how to make and use this homemade blackhead remover.
Homemade Blackhead Remover
You’ll need:
- A lemon
- Good-quality honey
- Baking soda
- Wash cloth
- Hot water
Instructions:
Start by cutting your lemon in half. Store one of the halves away for later use.
Spread honey across the cut side of the other half of the lemon, and then sprinkle a bit of baking soda over the top of the honey.
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Holding the skin end of the lemon, rub the honey and baking soda onto your face, paying special attention to problem areas.
Soak the wash cloth in hot water and wring it out. Lay the hot, damp towel over your face. The steam will open your pores so that the mixture of honey, lemon, and baking soda can work its magic!
When the towel has cooled considerably, use it to wipe the honey mixture off of you’re face (gently, of course).
Now your skin out in the bathroom mirror, or better yet, use a magnified mirror. If blackheads remain, you can very carefully attempt to extract them using a couple of Q-tips or an extractor tool. If your blackheads are stubborn, keep doing the process once or twice a week until they clear up.
Our Production Manager Brittany, who gamely agreed to be the “model” for these photos, only had good things to say about this process. “This is amazing!” she said. “I always have a ton of blackheads, but after the lemon, honey, and baking soda treatment, I really had to search to find any blackheads left to extract.” I hope all of you find it just as useful! :-)
Would this work for white heads too?
Hi Jillee:)
I love all your fabulous DIY ideas and have incorporated many of them into my daily routine. I’m a vegan who is into essential oils and keeping the family healthy. I was wondering, do you have a book (or e-book) filled with your most popular ideas that I can purchase on-line? I work fulltime and would love to be able to look up stuff by category (ie: cleaning, skin care, recipes, etc.) and have the instructions right there when I need them.
Thanks!
I do have a book! It’s called One Good Life, and you can find it on the righthand side of the webpage. While it does include some tips and tricks, it is mostly a book about me and getting to this point in my life after suffering from an alcohol addiction. I would love to release an e-book with tons of tips, but for now, Pinterest is probably you’re best bet! Thank you Cathy :-)
Another quick way to remove blackheads is to use Elmers white glue (you know, the kind you send to school with your kids). What I do is wash my face and dry my face. then I put a squirt of glue like over my chin area, not the whole face, let dry, then gently pull it off my face. It’s sort of like the poor woman’s biore strips.
This sounds great! Just make sure not to go in the sun that day, lemon can cause UV rays to become more damaged.
Hi Jillee I look forward to your tips everyday. Do you have any for wrinkles ? Keep them coming.
Yes! http://jillee.co/2iVw2wn
I have just tried this lemon, honey, soda mixture and it does NOT work.
Sorry it didn’t work for you Lyne! Everyone’s skin is different. :-)
Love your site but you need to make a shorter version for printing. I always end up typing everything myself so it fits on one page.
Try the “printer friendly” button towards the bottom of the post :-)
How often can/should you do this?
No more than 2x per week :-)
What about ‘white heads? My forehead is loaded with them.
No black heads here.
btw, I cannot print out the Printer Friendly version. thanks.
It should definitely help with white heads, too!
jillee love your site so many hints i lost count on how many ive used keep them comeing and ignore the critics
Is Manuka honey the recommended honey? can you explain why?
Yes! We love manuka honey – it is really powerful. You can read all about it here: http://jillee.co/2iWPISR
It can be expensive, though, so a good raw honey will work, too. :-)
I leave in Ontario Canada what other honey can I use. Thankyou
Any local, raw honey will work wonderfully!