Desi Nuskhe: Remove Whiteheads With Home Remedies and Treatments

Ever been bothered by the pesky little whiteheads on your face? If you are amongst the lucky few, you would have dealt with them in your adolescence and then said goodbye. However, if you are one of the majority, chances are, you are still trying to find an effective whiteheads treatment and wondering how to remove whiteheads from nose, head or face. 

There are a good number of home remedies for whiteheads, but to believe these, you need to know what you are trying to fight, right? In the simplest of terms, whiteheads occur when the pores on your skin become clogged with dead skin cells, naturally occurring body oils, or hair. The clogged pore, when under a thin layer of skin, appears as a lump, which is of the same natural tone as your skin. That should make answering the question- how to remove whiteheads, pretty simple. Just reopen the clogged pore, and done! 

What’s the simplest mechanism you can think of, as a whiteheads remedy? Squeeze it with your fingers? Never, ever do that!  For that will leave you with a scar and in the worst case, an infection. With that out of the way, let’s look at some great home remedies to remove whiteheads – the ones that actually work and work beautifully.

9 Effective Home Remedies For Whiteheads

Whenever you think of home remedies to remove whiteheads, certain ingredients automatically pop up in mind, like honey, lemon, tea, aloe vera and turmeric. Well, you guessed it right. These are super effective ingredients when you are running from pillar to post, trying to figure out how to remove whiteheads from nose or even more simply, how to get rid of whiteheads on face in general! Let’s dive right in and check out how to use some superb home remedies for whiteheads. 

1. Honey

The all-purpose ingredient and the superfood we have lying around in our home. The exceptional benefits of honey are well-known. So, here, let us focus on how to remove whiteheads at home with this magic ingredient. 

1. Warm honey to a lukewarm temperature. 
2. Take care not to overheat it to avoid scalding. 
3. Apply the warm honey directly to the affected areas. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
4. Wash your face with water.
5. You can repeat this process twice or thrice a week for best results.

You can also make this homemade wax with honey for hair removal at home.

2. Lemon

Another favourite when it comes to taking care of one’s skin; this is one ingredient that is readily available in every home. How does it help in whiteheads treatment? Lemon juice is acidic and hence helps in getting rid of the excess oil on the skin. This, in turn, dries up the clogged pore and gets rid of the whiteheads. Here is how you can use lemon for whiteheads on face treatment.

1. Take equal parts lemon juice and water, or only lemon juice.
2. Apply it on the affected areas.
3. Leave the juice on your skin for 5-6 minutes.
4. Rinse it off with cold water.
5. You can repeat this process twice or thrice a week for optimum results.

3. Tea 

A fairly popular ingredient for any kind of skincare routine, it is quite obvious that it would appear on this list of whiteheads on face treatment as well. When you are worrying about how to get rid of whiteheads, the answer lies in your morning cup of tea. Let us find out how.

1. Place a moist tea bag (preferably green tea) on the whitehead affected area for 10-15 minutes.
2. There is no second step! Seriously, that is all you need to do.
3. Repeat it twice a week and see the difference.

4. Tea Tree Oil

When talking about tea, there is another related and potent ingredient that is your answer to the question- how to get rid of whiteheads on face? Tea tree oil. 

1. Dip a cotton swab in tea tree oil and apply it on the whitehead.
2. If you have sensitive skin, dilute the swab with water before application.

5.  Aloe Vera

This is the magic plant when it comes to any kind of skincare and is an ideal ingredient to remove whiteheads on the face.

1. Take a fresh leaf of aloe vera and scoop out 1 teaspoon of gel.
2. If you do not have access to fresh aloe vera leaves, take any aloe vera gel.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to it and mix it well.
4. Apply the mixture on the affected area and gently massage it in
5. Rinse it off with cold water after about 10 minutes.
6. You can do this two to three times a week.

6. Turmeric (Haldi)

When wondering how to remove whiteheads at home, take a leaf out of grandma’s bag of recipes. Use turmeric (haldi) to see the difference and you will appreciate the centuries of wisdom hidden in home recipes.

1. Take ½ teaspoon of fresh turmeric (haldi) and mix it with water or honey to make a fine paste.
2. Apply this paste on the affected areas
3. Leave the paste for nearly 20 minutes
4. Wash it off with cold water. 
5. Repeat this daily for best results.

7. Steam 

This is a simple answer to the question of how to remove whiteheads at home. If you ask an expert, keeping your face clean helps. Wash your face 2-3 times in a day. An extremely effective method to unclog your pores is by taking steam on your face.

1. Take boiling water in a pan and bend your face over it. 
2. Take care not to burn yourself; maintain a safe distance from the pan.
3. For even better results, cover your head with a towel to make something a tent.
4. Alternatively, you can dip a towel in hot water and cover your face with it.
5. Repeat this whiteheads remedy weekly for excellent results.

8. Sugar Scrub

Another popular method to exfoliate your skin is scrubbing. With this highly effective recipe of homemade scrub, you can clean your face and get rid of clogged pores.

1. Take 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
2. Mix all the ingredients into a coarse scrub.
3. Massage the scrub onto your face and neck with circular motions for 5-7 minutes.
4. Wash it off with lukewarm water and see the difference.
5. Repeat this procedure twice to thrice a week.

9. Baking Soda

This powder, available in all kitchens, is not just good for baking a cake but is also an excellent home remedy to get rid of whiteheads. Working as both an exfoliate and an astringent, this is the one ace you can have up your sleeve, in your battle against the whiteheads. Here is how you can use it

1. Take 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda.
2. Mix it with a sufficient quantity of water to make a smooth paste.
3. Apply it on the affected areas. You can also apply this to your whole face.
4. Leave the paste on for nearly 20 minutes.
5. Rinse with lukewarm water.
6. Repeat once a week.

4 Medical Treatments For Getting Rid Of Whiteheads

When none of the home remedies seems to help in removing the blackheads, you can opt for medicine for whiteheads removal. There are many face wash, toners and other ointments available with these medicinal ingredients that can help you in getting rid of whiteheads. Some of the medicines to remove whiteheads are:

1. Salicylic Acid

The effectiveness of salicylic acid as medicine for whiteheads lies in the fact that it acts as an astringent. Thus, it helps in reducing the oil production in the skin and helps unclog the clogged pores.

2. Benzoyl Peroxide

A standard answer to the question of how to remove whiteheads from the nose is by reducing the amount of oil secreted naturally by the body. An antibiotic like Benzoyl Peroxide is exceptionally effective in achieving this and comes with the added advantage of reducing inflammation in the affected areas.

3. Vitamin A Creams

Known for its antioxidant properties, Vitamin A is an excellent option to treat inflammation due to whiteheads and reduce the oil concentration on the skin. It is a major constituent of many creams and face washes. Vitamin A essential oil can also be directly applied to the skin.

4. Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA)

This is another popular option and recommended by doctors, due to its properties as an exfoliator. The exfoliation helps get rid of excess oils and dead skin cells, thereby unclogging the pores and removing whiteheads from the root.

A word of caution that must be followed when opting for any medicinal treatment for whiteheads. While the home remedies are considered effective, they do not need a specialist’s instructions, since the side effects are minimal; if any. However, when it comes to medicines, there may be side effects. 

For example, Benzoyl Peroxide may cause dryness and irritation, if taken in a higher concentration. Similarly, Vitamin A and Retinoid creams (a concentrated version of Vitamin A) can make the skin extra sensitive. Thus, any medicinal treatment must be opted for only after consulting a doctor or a skin specialist. 

If you feel that whiteheads are becoming a serious problem for you, do visit a good dermatologist and take only the recommended medications. The good news, though, is that home remedies are incredibly efficient in treating whiteheads and most people see the benefit almost immediately. Hence, try these methods and if they don’t work, go to your dermatologist to get a whiteheads treatment by a laser/surgical method.