Review: Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

I've been wanting to try pore strips for a while and, after watching a few Youtube reviews yesterday, I decided to take the plunge and give them a go. I chose to use Bioré strips, as there seems to be little choice in the UK (drugstore brands, T-Zone or Bioré) and I had heard most good reviews about Bioré.

Pore strips work by removing dirt from and unclogging pores, although many sources suggest that they don't actually reach deep-down dirt they do claim to reduce the appearance of blackheads and, overtime, make pores appear smaller. I have the unfortunate gift of a nose full of glorious blackheads so I was keen to discovered whether the pore strips would live up to their claims and make my blackheads at least a little less prominent.

There seems to be a lot of pore strip controversy in the skincare world, some people claim that they are amazing and their go-to product when it comes to lessening the appearance of blackheads, yet others believe that they are an awful product that does nothing but strip surface dirt and enlarge pores. As the dirt that is removed from pores by the pore strips tends to be tear-drop shaped, I can see how dirt removal may result in pores being stretched, however pores can also become enlarged as a result of being clogged - can we win when it comes to avoiding enlarged pores?! Perhaps not!

I enlisted my boyfriend, Russell, to provide a 'not so dirty porey' perspective, as I probably have about 10 times more blackheads than he does and I doubt I provide a true representation of the population!

Bioré pore strips should be applied to a clean face over a wet nose and left on for between 10 and 15 minutes, until hard.

The strips are soft when first applied and harden as they dry. The Bioré instructions warn that the strips should be removed promptly when they become hard. We left the strips on for around 15 minutes, they were hard when we removed them and probably could have been removed a little earlier, I wouldn't recommend leaving them on for too long as they may become painful to remove!

Removing the strip wasn't particualrly painful, it did make my eyes water a bit, but nothing like the pain of waxing. I was quite disgusted at what my used strip looked like so if you'd rather not know, don't scroll any further down.

Drumroll please...

It's safe to say I definitely achieved more than Russell did, as soon as I removed the strip I could see the difference in the appearance of blackheads across my nose. I would use the strips again but, at £7.99 for 6 strips, I wouldn't do so particularly regularly. The instructions warn against using the strips more regularly than once every three days, I think I would actually use them once every week or two.

Ultimately, dirt will always return to pores, and pore strips alone won't completely rid you of blackheads but I have to say pore strips are very satisfying. If you don't particularly suffer from blackheads I doubt pore strips will make a massive difference and you may prefer to stay away from them as the positives will be unlikely to outweigh the negative opinions. If your nose is blackhead city like mine, pore strips are definitely worth a try!

Have you used pore strips?
What are your opinions?

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