Sometimes using a cream that is too heavy can cause clogging. Alkaline soaps strip the skin of oil and water, sometimes making the oil glands pump more oil to compensate for the loss. This can create blackheads. Keeping the skin clean through daily cleansing is the first step for reducing the potential for blackheads. Since dead skin and oil clog the pores, getting rid of this surface debris will help maintain cleaner skin.
Exfoliation is another important step in keeping blackheads away.
Regular exfoliation keeps the surface of your skin smooth and free from a buildup of accumulated dead cells. This, therefore, helps to keep the pores from clogging. Whiteheads are closed pores that are clogged. They contain the same debris as blackheads, but since there is no pore opening, the debris in a whitehead has nowhere to go. Because dead skin covers the opening to the pore, sebum doesn't mix with oxygen in the air and therefore maintains its natural white or yellowish color.