At Home Pore Extraction — How?

Extracting pores is no easy feat — which is why we often leave it to a professional esthetician during facials and spa treatments. In fact, we almost always advise against squeezing anything out of your skin on your own, but we’ve recently discovered it is possible to address skin extractions  yourself, if you have the right tools and proper technique. Ahead, we chatted with Dara Levy, founder of Dermaflash to find out how to go about at home extractions. 

Why Extract at Home?

According to Levy, extracting at home is a beneficial skill, no matter what skin type or texture you have. “The truth is that not all women have the access or the means and time to take themselves for monthly facials,” says Levy. Instead of heading to a spa for a professional to safely perform extractions on your skin, learning to do it yourself could save you time and money and even help you learn more about your skin.

What to Avoid When Extracting at Home

Our instinct about not squeezing our skin with our hands, though, was right. Levy’s first tip is to never, ever perform an extraction with your fingers. “This can cause problems like irritation or redness and lead to more significant damage such as hyperpigmentation and scarring,” she says. To help avoid this, she created the Dermapore, an at-home extraction device shaped like a metal spatula that uses ultra-sonic vibration without ever needing to get in there with your hands.  

How to Extract at Home Using the Dermapore

Here’s how it works: After cleansing your face with a gentle formula (we recommend the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser), wet your skin again. “The skin must be wet during the whole treatment to allow the spatula head to glide across the skin and ‘wash’ out those congested areas, especially around the nose and chin,” Levy explains. Turn on the device to “extract mode” and carefully glide over your neck and face with the spatula, concentrating on the congested areas. You’ll notice that it slowly but surely picks up excess gunk from the skin’s surface. When you’re finished, wipe down the spatula with soap and water or alcohol to remove any lingering bacteria. “Then, simply apply your favorite serum or moisturizer and massage the device on ‘Infuse mode’ all over the entire face,” adds Levy. According to Levy, this will help the products penetrate more deeply into the skin’s surface layers for a more effective skin-care routine all together. Dermapore can be used up to three times per week.

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