also, here's another tip: after washing off the oil and drying your face, if you still have little oil plugs, tear up strips of paper towel to cover your fingers if you want to gently nudging out the plugs. i learned this from when I had facials before my wedding. the paper towel gives a little traction so that the fingers don't slip, and i guess you could substitute cotton handkerchiefs or gauze. but you have to be careful not to force anything. she would always steam my face first. if the plug is "sealed" and won't budge, don't force it, which could damage your skin. her secret was to take a small lancet (sold in drugstores, looks like a cross between a needle and a covered thumbtack-used for taking blood samples), and very carefully and lightly release the pressure from a whitehead by pricking the pore--placing the lancet exactly where the pore is to open it up, very lightly and not too deep. then when you work at it with your index fingers wrapped in paper-towel, the oil plug will come out the right place, rather than break through the skin and cause a scar. I was skeptical at first, but it really works when done carefully.
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