While I do know that a nose strip is not the best thing for the skin, I sometimes cannot resist the urge to see all the gunk from my pores being pulled out 🙂 I do not indulge in nose strips more than a couple of times a year simply because they are quite rough on the skin. This makes it all the more important for me to make my bi-annual nose strip worth the while. The nose strips that I always gravitate towards since I first tried them are the Hip Hop Charcoal Nose Strips. Please bear in mind that if you have sensitive skin or do not want anything harsh on your face then skip nose strips altogether. But if you are looking for a quick fix to get rid of all the white heads and black heads then keep reading.
How To Use the HipHop Charcoal Nose Strip
The HipHop Charcoal Nose Strips com in a cardboard box that contains 3 strips and is priced at INR 90, which is pretty affordable. Each nose strip comes individually sandwiched between two plastic layers. All you need to do is peel off the strip and apply the black side on the nose after moistening the nose with warm water. This step of moistening the nose is very important as this is what will help the strip adhere to the nose. The result will be even better if you steam your nose to bring the oil heads to the surface of the skin. All you need to do is leave the strip on your nose for 10 minutes then peel it by GENTLY lifting it from both ends of the nose towards the centre.
You can use a gentle cleanser followed by a toner to soothe your akin afterwards.
List of Ingredients
What I like about these nose strips is that they have mentioned the full ingredient list on the packaging, unlike certain shady brands. This way you know exactly what you are getting your skin into. Here is the list of ingredients.
“Activated Carbon, Tea Tree Oil, PVP, Isopropyl Alcohol, Glycerine, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate, Titanium Dioxide, Deionized Water, BHT, Fragrance”
The strips contain PVP, which is a polymer that acts as an adhesive when it comes in contact with water, and therefore allows the strip to pull out the whiteheads and blackheads from the skin. It is obviously not the safest thing to do to your skin, specially if you are not super gentle while peeling off the strip.
The strip also contains certain ingredients that are meant to be good for the skin, such as tea tree oil and glycerin, however I am not sure exactly how helpful these ingredients will be for the skin considering that the strip basically smells like glue, as do most nose strips in the market.
The Efficacy of the Hip Hop Charcoal Nose Strips
In terms of efficacy, the Hip Hop Charcoal Nose Strips are the best nose strips I have ever tried. The shot above is from a day when my pores didn’t even feel that clogged but the strip still managed to pull out so many oil heads. It does leave my nose looking a little red but the redness goes away within a minute with the help of rose water. While other nose strips sometimes tear away a bit of skin too, this one has never done that to me, which is why I am going to stick to these nose strips whenever I want to get rid of oil heads in a jiffy.
What is your take on nose strips? Do you love them or hate them? Let me know in the comments below!