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1. Don’t Pop It!
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While it might be tempting to pop a giant pimple, doing so can lead to scarring, more inflammation, or even an infection. It’s best to leave it alone as much as possible.
2. Apply a Cold Compress
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Use a cold compress (like a clean cloth with cold water or an ice pack wrapped in a cloth) for about 10-15 minutes. This can reduce swelling and redness.
3. Use Over-the-Counter Treatments
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Benzoyl Peroxide: This ingredient helps kill bacteria and can reduce inflammation. Apply a small amount directly to the pimple.
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Salicylic Acid: This helps to exfoliate the skin and can clear pores, preventing further breakouts.
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Hydrocortisone Cream: In some cases, a small amount of hydrocortisone cream can reduce inflammation and swelling, but it should be used sparingly.
4. Spot Treatment
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Apply a targeted acne treatment that contains ingredients like sulfur, tea tree oil, or benzoyl peroxide to the pimple. These can help reduce the size and prevent further irritation.
5. Try an Acne Patch
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These are small patches that you place over the pimple. They help absorb the fluid and can reduce inflammation.
6. Keep Your Skin Clean
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Gently cleanse your face twice a day with a mild cleanser, and avoid scrubbing the skin too harshly, as it can make acne worse.
7. Moisturize
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Even if you have oily skin, don’t skip the moisturizer. Look for non-comedogenic moisturizers, which won’t clog pores.
8. Consult a Dermatologist
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If your pimples are persistent, painful, or you’re unsure of the best treatment, seeing a dermatologist can help. They may recommend prescription treatments like topical antibiotics, retinoids, or even oral medications for more severe cases.
9. Avoid Touching Your Face
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Hands can carry bacteria and oils, which can worsen pimples or spread the acne to other areas.
10. Consider Lifestyle Factors
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Stress, diet, and lack of sleep can sometimes trigger breakouts. Try to manage stress, maintain a balanced diet, and get plenty of rest.
Blackheads, also known as open comedones, form when dead skin cells, sebum, and bacteria become trapped in a hair follicle. This is due to a clogged pore that doesn’t let the skin cell and oil debris escape. As a result, a blackhead forms. They can appear on the nose, chin, forehead, chest, and other areas of the body. To prevent blackheads from forming, it’s important to regularly wash your face with a gentle cleanser to remove dirt and oils. Exfoliating two to three times per week can also help to keep pores unclogged and avoid the buildup of dead skin cells. However, if blackheads do form, there are ways to treat them. One method is popping or squeezing the blackheads. If you decide to pop your blackheads, it’s important to take caution and follow Dr. Sandra Lee’s instructions for the safest way to get rid of pimples by popping blackheads. First, you should use clean hands and fingers (or a sterile cotton swab) to gently press around the sides of the blackhead. If done correctly, this will cause the blockage inside the pore to come out without damaging your skin. Life with acne can be annoying, but we can help you clear your skin with our acne products. A consultation with one of our skin care experts is the best way to determine which of these treatments will help brighten your skin and get rid of acne for a long time. After your first in-studio acne treatment, one of our experienced estheticians can review a variety of products with you to help you customize products designed to fight acne and improve your skin. Our team of Holladay dermatology and aesthetic experts can uncover the root cause of your acne flare-ups and provide you with the right treatment that will work better and faster than products available on pharmacy shelves. Dr. Fua can incorporate all of these treatment options into your acne treatment plan, depending on what works for your skin.
If topical treatment alone does not improve acne, or if acne is severe or extensive, oral medications are the best option. If you’ve tried several topical medications without success, or if your condition is severe, oral acne medications are usually the next step in the treatment process. Treatment usually includes oral antibiotics and applying a prescription gel or topical cream to the skin. Depending on people with acne, treatment may include using prescription creams to prevent acne, taking antibiotics to kill bacteria that contribute to acne, or, if acne is severe, taking stronger medications such as like isotretinoin, or even minor surgery. Even if you have tried topical acne treatments such as creams or gels without any lasting results, laser therapy may be the right solution for you. While I would like you to try natural remedies first, if you are not seeing improvement and severe hormonal acne is making your quality of life worse, other treatments can make a real difference. While it may take a while, treating hormonal acne from the inside out until your hormones are in their natural, happy balance will allow your skin to truly heal. While my approach isn’t an instant solution, and won’t replace everyone’s multi-drug regimen, hormonal acne can be very sensitive to a more holistic approach, which means less medication and more patches. While the studio treatments offered by Carolina Skin Care can be very effective in treating acne, patients should also commit to taking care of their skin at home. Multiple topical treatments, whether it’s steroids for eczema or topical antibiotics for acne, topical treatments may help in the short term, but in the long run, it can damage the skin, making you more likely to take it in the future. In addition to other treatments, you can take the most obvious step to soothe stress-related acne: reduce stress. If the creams and antibiotics you have been prescribed are not working, or if you cannot tolerate the side effects that medications may cause, you may want to consider acne treatments, which can be provided at your doctor’s office. Other treatments include birth control pills to control acne, hormonal drainage and extraction, and laser and phototherapy.
