If you suffer from acne you probably get blackheads as well, and if you do, you probably already know how difficult and frustrating it can be finding a good blackhead treatment the works. There are hundreds of products out there that say they will help, but when you are at the stage where you have tried just about every blackhead treatment available and the results have been mediocre to say the least, what do you do?

A Little About Blackheads

Blackheads, or comedones as doctors call them, can and will appear just about anywhere on the body where you can get acne. They are caused when a sebaceous follicle becomes plugged with sebum (a naturally occurring oily substance produced by the sebaceous glands); when the comedones are open, you can see the surface of the plug which is a blackish color - hence the term blackhead. Blackheads are not pores clogged with dirt as many people think, it is an internal function of the body and has nothing to do with hygiene.

Good Treatments, Bad Treatments

There are many products on the market that claim to be effect blackhead treatments; most do not work, and a minority will produce results that are modest at best. A blackhead extractor is a small tool that resembles a large needle with an open in one end where you would put the thread if it were a needle. You position the hole over the blackhead, and by using downwards pressure, the blackhead is supposed to magically pop out - unfortunately however, they only work on a few occasions and they can damage your skin. If you've already bought one of these, at least you haven't invested too much money - they are usually very cheap.

If you have been looking for an effective blackhead treatment for a while, I'm sure you have seen the blackhead vacuum extraction devices advertised - they are meant to 'suck' out your blackheads by creating a vacuum over the affected area. If you've considered buying one of these, don't they are a complete waste of your money.

There is no magic cure for blackheads; sure, you will probably try many of the products that claim to get rid of them, that's only natural, in the long run though, your best hope of clearing them up is to follow the practical advice in the next couple of paragraphs.

The best combination of treatments for blackheads in my opinion is any acne medication with benzoyl peroxide in, time, and persistence; not a magical cure I know, but it will work if you put in the effort.

Here's What You Do

Cleanse your skin as you normally would with a mild acne cleanser, allow your skin to dry and them rub a small amount of your benzoyl peroxide medication on to the area affected by blackheads and again, allow it to dry. If you can do this twice a day for 4 to 6 weeks, you will see a big reduction in the number of blackheads.

That's it, were you expecting more? It isn't any more complicated than that, it just takes getting in to a routine and sticking with the routine - that's the hardest part of the whole thing, most people give up too early, but YOU don't have to.