Okay, so can we talk about how satisfying those Dr. Pimple Popper videos are? It’s like a train wreck…you literally cannot look away. I was actually just watching a video and, of course, I received a targeted ad shortly thereafter for a blackhead vacuum.
Yes. You read that right. Apparently there’s a small machine that sucks the dirt right out of your pores, leaving you radiant in a matter of minutes. I wanted to do a little snooping around online first to make sure this was the real deal. So, I did what any millennial logically does in this situation, and I went over to Amazon.
I ended up choosing the Krasr Comedo Suction Blackhead Remover. With over 6K 4.5+ star reviews, I was feeling pretty confident about my life choices. They had two different options, one that was in the low $20s as opposed to another in the mid $40s. The only significant difference was that the pricier device had an LCD screen which showed the varying strength levels and current battery life. I picked the LCD option.
Couple days later, Prime dropped my package off. I have to say, the packaging was pretty impressive. I was thinking it’d be a little rough around the edges considering the price tag but I was wrong.
My vacuum came with four removable heads and a bag of refill filters. (Originally I thought that was odd, but you’ll see just how tiny these filters are. I’ll be impressed if I still have all of them by next week.)
I read the instructions which described the various heads and what they could be used for:
1) There was a narrow funneled head which was for extracting blackheads in those hard to get crevices, like around your outer nostrils.
2) An even smaller one was included that was geared for fine lines and wrinkles. They recommended a suck and release methodology (pressing down on your skin and then pulling away) as this prevents you from bruising. Personally, I loved this one as it stimulates the blood flow beneath the skin, causing those fine lines to temporarily fade away.
3) There was the general size for your regular blackheads and clogged pores.
4) Lastly, there was an abrasion head. This was geared towards sluffing off dead skin, essentially a mimic of microdermabrasion you’d receive from your aesthetician.
From everything I’ve read, people highly recommended that you spend at least 10 minutes steaming your pores open. I took the hottest shower of my life and chose the regular-sized vacuum head.
There are five levels of suction power, and I can definitely see how people who are easily bruised should stay away from this setting. The longer I held the head in one place (that was strongly discouraged) the more stuff I could see being lifted out of my pores. Since the vacuum head is transparent you knew exactly what was going on inside the chamber.
It initially worked like a charm, but I noticed that the longer I was out of the shower, the less effective the vacuum was becoming. My pores were starting to close up and the vacuum just wasn’t cutting it.
However, I was still very intrigued by this product. I decided to try it out a few other ways. One evening I placed a Biore strip over my nose. Once I’d ripped that off I proceeded to use the blackhead vacuum. Again the vacuum didn’t really do a whole lot for the remaining oils. My pores had already started to close up after 10 minutes.
I tried exfoliating and then using the vacuum but the results were the same as when I’d first tried the product.
I came to the conclusion that the vacuum should definitely be used after you’ve opened your pores. You have to be quick about it as they close pretty quickly, or at least mine do. The battery needs to be charged after every other use, which isn’t the end of the world. Additionally, you have to take apart the piece that is extracting the oils and clean it thoroughly or else you’ll have a pretty gross film that builds up over time.
The last observation I made is that you definitely don’t want to use this device if you have an open sore, meaning a pimple you’ve recently popped that is healing. It’ll open your wound back up and you’ll see blood spatter in your vacuum. Pretty gross!
All in all, I’ve enjoyed using this product but haven’t had a noticeable improvement in my complexion. I’ll definitely continue to use it but only when I have ample time on my hands.