Egg White Pore Strips

"DIY pore strip/mask with egg white and toilet paper! So trying this!"

This is part 2 of the DIY pore strips that I've been testing out. The first one didn't even set up right, but what about this one? First off - the link connected to this image, at least for me, was a spam site. Which isn't really adding to the credibility of this. Now the idea of eggs as a facial isn't new, and egg white masks have been popular for many, many years, but can you use them as a DIY pore strip? 

Well I tested this one out this weekend and it failed miserably. I don't know if it was the paper I was trying, but it became a soft gooey mess on my nose. I had to attempt this one a few times, because the toilet paper kept falling apart. I first tried to dip it into the egg whites, but it mushed up in the bowl, so I then smeared some of the egg whites on my nose, placed the paper on, and pat on more egg whites with a q-tip. However that caused it to goo up again and tear. So round three, I put egg whites on my nose and tried gently patting the toilet paper on. It didn't work all that well, but it did stay, and at that point I figured it was good enough. 

Facebook and Twitter fans got a sneak peak of this lovely image

I waited until it was hard and set up and peeled it off. I looked over what I peeled off my face but didn't see a single thing. It's hard to say if it was due to the texture/pattern inherent in toilet paper, but even on zoom I couldn't see a thing. 

Now here's where I add the disclaimer that I'm a skin care freak, in the same way some women are crazy about shoes, or makeup, or books, I'm that way about skin care. So my pores are generally kept clean and clear more so than the average person. But even the best skin has clogged pores and blackheads, so I went ahead and tried a Biore strip to compare what it pulled out vs the egg white/TP mix. This time around it was clear the strip pulled some gunk out of my pores. (if you look closely by my fingers in the photo below, you can see a few blackheads)

Ewww! 

So there you have it.  If you ask me, it doesn't work at all. Just testing out the two methods side-by-side, the feeling of pulling the biore strip off hurt more than the egg white one. Which sounds weird to say, but the hold, the adhesive of the biore one was clearly stronger than the egg whites were, so it seemed more likely to get the junk out of your pores better. 

I'll be testing out a few other methods in the coming weeks, so if you have any DIY pore strips you're curious about post the ideas over on our facebook or twitter!

Honey and Milk Pore Strips

"homemade pore stripes without gelatin or eggs. 1 tbsp honey mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp milk, microwave ten seconds or until warm (not hot) and apply to area with cotton ball or makeup brush. Let dry 15 minutes and peel off." 

I'm sure we've all seen a couple different ways to make homemade pore strips on Pinterest. Everything from gelatin to school glue seems to be mentioned. I've been meaning to test some of these out, but I've been wanting to wait until I  get a decent microscope so I can examine them closely enough to see if they really do work. 

However, this is one I don't even need to test to say it won't work. The pin suggestions a simple mixture of milk and honey. Looking over the link it goes to, the website suggests all it takes is 1 tablespoon of honey with 1.5 tablespoons of milk, microwave for 10 seconds, then dab onto your face where you need to clear your pores. Within 15 minutes it should set up into a hard layer that can be easily peeled off.

The problem? Honey doesn't set up like that, especially when mixed with milk. The only thing this will accomplish is a leaving your face a big gooey mess. Honey can and will solidify over time, but ironically as soon as you heat it up, it's going to go back to being liquid. Add liquid to that and place on a warm face, and there is no way this is going to set up enough to clear your pores. 

On the other hand, honey has been used as a skin treatment for thousands of years, and I personally love it as a face scrub (mix equal parts sugar and honey for a great DIY exfoliant), but a pore strip? I don't think so.