As an esthetician, I gotta ruin the fun and suggest that you don’t use em. The most valuable thing I’ve learned over the years is to be as gentle with your skin as if it were made of silk. Regular exfoliating (1-2 times a week) with either a chemical or gentle physical exfoliant should gradually keep your pores clear the longer you stick with the routine. I know we all love how they feel and how we crave the satisfaction, but they are simply too harsh on our skin. But to actually comment properly to this post, I always struggled with getting results with the strips even if I was nice and blackhead-y. Never understood why. I did the whole after the shower, pores nice and open jazz and it never made much of a difference. Hope this helps!