Holika Holika Pig Nose Steam Starter

That is one heck of a product name.  I actually laughed at it when I first read it after opening “My Cute Wishlist 4” from Memebox.  Pig Nose Steam Starter?  Just what in the world does it do?  After checking out the Holika Holika description, I found that it's supposed to make your nose as smooth and blackhead free as a pig's.

Cool

Initial impression:

It comes in a pink and brown polka dotted tube with an aqua green top.  The product inside has a mild, sweet and fruity scent, is clear, and has a sticky, thick consistency.  Upon application, it's supposed to have a warming sensation and open the pores to melt out the So far, I like it a fair bit. 

Instructions:

Apply a small amount to areas with excessive blackheads and whiteheads.  Massage gently for 3 minutes.  Rinse with lukewarm water.  Pat dry.

Results:

I'm not going to lie.  I was skeptical about this one.  It seemed too good to be true.  However, I decided that I would try it out for a few days.  You can't just try skincare products for one day and know for sure that they work well. 

Day 1

I noticed that it DID have an effect.  It heats gently for a few seconds, but after a while, the massaging action turns it into a slippery liquid.  I wondered what the purpose of this was.  After the first use, I noticed that my blackheads and whiteheads were strangely more...eh... pronounced.  Wiping my face down with warm water pulled the majority of them out of my pores and left my skin smooth and... kinda uncomfortably dry.

Day 2

After the second use, I noted that some of the skin surrounding the whiteheads and blackheads sloughed off and even more of the offending blemishes were sucked out of my pores.  I was starting to like this treatment. 

Day 3

By the third use nearly all of my pores were gunk free and starting to appear smaller.  I decided to use the product in the morning and night, hoping to full rid myself of the icky acne blobs hiding in my pores.  Bad idea.  My skin was red and peeling the next day.  It seems this product has some sort of chemical peel-like properties...

Day 4

I skipped using the product today.

Day 5

Today I used the product prior to steaming my face.  The effect was incredible.  After just 5 minutes of steam and then massaging my face, all my problem areas were relatively clear.  My pores were cleaned out and looked smaller.  No more raised lumps showing me where the next white or black head would pop out.  It was awesome.  However, I still had a few small ones lingering.

Recommendations:

I think that in the future, I may try Holika Holika's entire Pig Nose line.  They have a scrub, mask, and pore strips.  Adding those to my acne care routine might have a greater benefit than scrubbing the crap out of my face and manually squeezing out nasty pore gunk.   

Although this product isn't PERFECT, for those of you who have extreme problems with blackheads and whiteheads and have yet to find something to loosen them up without hurting your face, this is good to try and at an average price of about $5-6 dollars for 30ml tube, your risk is fairly minimal.  I mean, it's not like buying one of those $200 dollar facial brushes that only irritates your face...

My final recommendation is that if you choose to try this product, try using it once every other day with actual steam.  Steam is one of the most common blackhead remedies and I saw that combining it with this product improved both's effectiveness.  Also, don't use it more than once in a day and use a MOISTURIZER after you apply it.  It dries your face out a bit and you do not want to deal with irritated skin.