Don’t click on those YouTube videos – don’t even look at the thumbnails. The internet can be a dark place, especially to an unassuming person simply looking to nix a few pesky spots on their nose.

Instead, keep your skin barrier and your sanity intact, and follow this trustworthy guide to blackhead removal by an expert who very much knows what is good for skin, and what undoubtedly isn’t.

What are blackheads?

“Blackheads occur when there is a build-up of sebum (your skin’s oil) and dead cells in an enlarged, open pore,” explains Andrea Pfeffer, founder of London-based facial studio Pfeffer Sal. “The sebum reacts with the oxygen in the air – a process known as oxidising – giving the exposed build-up its dark appearance.”

Which skin types can get blackheads?

Blackheads are extremely common, and every skin type is susceptible to them. But if you’re on the oilier side, you’re likely to get more, as you’re naturally producing more grease.

“Most commonly, blackheads appear where we have a higher density of sebaceous glands; the chin, nose, forehead,” says Pfeffer. Men's skin also tends to be thicker and oilier, which can make it blackheads a particularly recurrent problem.

Should I use a blackhead strip?

Forget everything you’ve seen from those backstreet dermatologists on YouTube (chances are, you’d like to anyways), because those blackhead strips are unequivocally a hard no. “They are just too harsh on the skin and actually lead to more issues than they solve," says Pfeffer. "There are so many fantastic ingredients and products out there now that these strips really should be a thing of the past."

Read more