If you’ve ever put a Biore strip on your nose, peeled that sucker off slowly as your eyes well with tears, to find yourself totally satisfied and equally disgusted by the amount of gunk left on the strip, then you’ve probably asked yourself before: does this actually work? And if so, how? Because same. So today, we’re answering those burning questions. 

(image via: istock)

Now, on the other hand, if you’ve never used a Biore strip, you’re probably a little in the dark, so allow us to enlighten you! A Biore strip is a pore cleansing strip you put on your (wet) nose, you allow it to dry, the pore strip hardens, you then slowly pull the pore strip off, and once it’s completely off the pore strip should reveal to you just how clogged the pores on your nose really were. This is slightly painful and oddly satisfying. And that you know what a Biore strip is supposed to do, you’re probably asking the same questions we mentioned earlier, so let’s get into it! 

When we started this journey to find out the truth about pore strips, we have to admit that we were ready to be disappointed. While Biore strips have been around as long as we remember, they reminded us somewhat of a great beauty scam, we were, however, pleasantly surprised. The good news is, Biore strips do remove some gunk from your nose such as dirt, oil, even hair. These are the components that make those strips so satisfying to look at once the strip is pulled off, and you’ll see a noticeable difference in the amount of those tiny black dots on your nose. Here is the one downside to pore strips though, everything you’re pulling up is surface level. So yes, you are removing surface dirt and oil, but as far as really getting deep into those pores to remove built-up dirt and oil, that is simply not happening. 

(image via: istock)

At the end of the day, Biore strips are a great addition to your skincare routine, they’re great for removing dirt and oil, and you will see a difference immediately, but they shouldn’t be the only way you’re dealing with blackheads, you shouldn’t apply a strip every night, and you shouldn’t use a pore strip in lieu of all of your other skincare treatments, but rather in addition to. The best tip we have when it comes to pore strips is to read the directions and make sure you’re using them exactly as the directions say to use them to get the best results. And hey, enjoy inspecting the strip after you pull it off. (We know you will!)