Akhavan is also an expert in non-invasive laser and cosmetic treatments.īeth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with five years of experience researching, writing, and editing skincare stories that range from scalp-acne shampoos to butt acne.

Arash Akhavan, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of The Dermatology and Laser Group in New York, NY.

“They continue to stay open and fill back up, which means at best, you’re seeing a very temporary fix and some psychological satisfaction.”Įither way, you do you, but just know that if you do try this on your significant other, it might result in a fight/unforgivable resentment. “Your pores don’t close up once you remove the debris from them,” says Dr. Akhavan.Īnd even if you do manage to suck out a significant amount of gunk, those semi-empty pores will just fill back up within a few days-if not sooner.

“What you’re really doing with a pore vacuum is very superficially removing any dead skin, makeup, and oils from the surface of your pores, which you can also do by cleansing very well,” says Dr. At most, you’ll probably see only a few little squiggles of gunk come out of your pores, maybe even one big satisfying one, but that’s about it.Īnd even then, you’re not actually vacuuming out your pores- you’re just removing some gunk from the opening of your pores. Like, those super-satisfying videos you see all over TikTok and Instagram? That’s not the norm-sadly. Yes, pore vacuums really do “work” to some degree…but not on everyone and not as effectively as you’re hoping. Which brings me to the question/answer we’re all waiting for:

Thankfully, the redness dissipated after 45 minutes, but my DEEP, HEART-WRENCHING disappointment of a failed experiment has yet to fade. His nose was red, there was a bright-red line from his nose to his lip where we had lost control, and his pores looked exactly the same. We eventually admitted defeat-or more accurately, my boyfriend stood up and declared, “I’m out I’m done,” before leaving the room. But I also felt the need to buy one and test it out for myself before completely saying 'NOPE.' So I went with one of the top-rated pore vacuums on Amazon for the low price of $19 (which is now discontinued, sry, but trust me-it's the same as all the other cheap options), talked to a dermatologist, and hoped for the best. And I'm not the only one who has been ~enticed~ by the ick: Ever since pore cleaners went viral, I now get weekly texts and DMs from friends and strangers, asking me if pore vacuums really get rid of blackheads and clogged pores-or if they're just a marketing scam.įWIW, I was hella skeptical at first-in the skincare world, if it sounds too good to be true, it pretty much always is. But the one kind of acne video I'll watch every freakin' time it appears on my TikTok or IG? Those viral videos of people using pore vacuums to suck out the junk from their pores. I’ll be honest: I’m not a fan of most pimple-popping videos (too squeamish, get nauseated, blegh).

Pimple extractors