For all skin types, these strips are designed to help unplug the pores across your nose. The 6 strips for $15, contain Charcoal Powder which draws out impurities, Silica to control excess oil and Witch Hazel Extract tightens the look of your pores once the strip is removed. I follow the directions: wash your face, with dry hands apply a strip to your very wet nose and let dry till hard, about 15 - 20 minutes. I notice as it dries not only does it become hard, it tightens and slightly restricts my breathing. I believe it is not the strips fault as I only feel this way on one side of my nose, so i blame my placement.
Once it is dry, I peel the sides first and then the tip of my nose, upward. It requires more force to remove than I was expecting. It's kind of like pulling dry duct tape off my face. It was tough, uncomfortable and you know what? I got upper epidermal lifting - when the top layer of your skin is removed and it feels & looks like a burn. My nose is on fire. Excellent. I am going to go cry and finish this review later.
And cry I did. I have 2 areas of lift, one one each side of my nose with visible scabbing. I had to keep a damp cotton round on my nose to cool the sting. Guess it is a good thing that I washed my face first, as there is no way I could tolerate soap on my skin at this point. Every speck of skin that was touched by this strip, is uncomfortable. But the burns are, well, burning. I did not think my skin fell under the "Do not use on...." category.
I wake the next morning and the rawness is now covered with thin scabs. I won't be able to cover them due to their sensitivity - imaging putting concealer on a rug burn. In a few days the scabs will come off only to emerge a bright pink, shiny replacement. And within that time I will return the unused portion to Sephora.
I am disappointed, to say the least. Perhaps you read the post before this one, where I talk about medication that I take 'thinning' my skin, and you're thinking, well duh - what did you expect. I wrote that post more than 18 months ago and have not taken that medication in about 16 months, so I was not expecting lift off. Nor was I expecting it to dry like a brick of cement on my face, either. Hindsight, I should have dampened it and taken it off that way. Oh well, there won't be a second trial. It's already in my purse to return. I rate this 1 out of 5 stars.
Have you used this product or another pore strip?
How did it work for you?
xoxo