blemish Archives - The Beauty Gypsy

10 Pretty Simple Pimple Home Remedies

While we all know that acne is often an indicator of what’s happening inside our bodies rather than on top of our skin, sometimes you just need that terrifying pimple to go away NOW. So, even though these tried-and-tested home remedies might not banish the chronic cause of your acne, they will definitely help zap the zits almost immediately!

Try some garlic love

This is one of my favourites: peel a clove of garlic and then mash it well with a fork. Apply the juice on your pimples and leave on for 20 minutes. Despite its stinkiness, garlic is packed with antimicrobial and healing properties that are pretty wondrous when it comes to clearing away the pimples.

Spice it up with nutmeg and cloves

Add 4 teaspoons whole cloves and 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg in half a cup of milk. Heat on low for 10 minutes, then allow the mixture to cool. Once it reaches room temperature, apply the liquid to the pimply areas with a small fabric. Leave on for half an hour, then rinse.

Make ice cubes out of green tea

Make strong green tea and pour into an ice cube tray. Once frozen, rub a cube over your face 2-3 times a day. Green tea is both anti-inflammatory and astringent, so the inflammation will go down and skin will be soothed.

Tomatoes. Tomatoes. Tomatoes.

This is as simple as it gets: cut open a tomato and rub some of the juice on the blemished areas once or twice a day. Tomatoes are astringent and superbly high in antioxidants, which make them perfect for zit zapping.

Dab a little lemon juice

Dab a bit of lemon juice on the spot and leave on overnight. The astringent properties in lemon juice will suck out some of the oil and shrink the blemish. If you want even more drying power, dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, rub into the zit and leave on. But remember: lemon juice makes your skin more sensitive to the sun, so don’t go out into the daylight without sunscreen!

Make an Aspirin & Honey Facial Mask

Dissolve 6 tablets of aspirin in half a tablespoon of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Add 2 tablespoons of honey to the mixture and stir well. Apply the mixture to a clean face; let sit for 15 minutes, then rinse off well with warm water, scrubbing gently. Aspirin contains a mega dose of salicylic acid, which is one of the main ingredients in most store-bought acne products. Use this mask once or twice a week, else it will dry out your skin.

Opt for Egg whites

Separate the yolk from the white, whip the white and dab it on spotty areas with a Q-tip. Leave on overnight and wash well in the morning. Boost the treatment by first dabbing on lemon juice, letting that dry, and then covering it with the egg white.

Slap on some mustard

Mix 1/4 teaspoon of mustard powder with 2 teaspoons unfiltered honey and stir well. Apply on the affected areas, leave on for 20 minutes and then rinse off. Mustard contains natural salicylic acid, vitamin C, omega 3 and 6 plus zinc, all of which are great for banishing blemishes and soothing the skin.

Use lavender or tea tree essential oil

Ah! Another one of my all-time favourites. While it is normally a no-no to use undiluted essential oils on your skin, lavender and tea tree essential oils are okay to use “neat” if applied occasionally and only on the pimples themselves (not on the entire face!). So, put one tiny drop of either oil on a Q-tip and dab on the blemish; leave on overnight.

Opt for Apple Cider Vinegar

Dab a bit of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar on the affected area and leave it on for at least 20 minutes (or overnight if you can stand it!). But don’t overdo: once or twice a day (and only on the blemishes) is plenty.

Do you have a favourite pimple remedy? Something you’ve tried and loved? Share it here!

Emergency Acne Shots: A First-Hand Experience

You know that old saying about God laughing when you make plans? Apparently it applies to skincare and beauty beliefs as well. Else why would someone like me, who has always vowed to keep away from anything injectable/cuttable/scalpable for my face be lying flat on my back in a dermatologist’s clinic, willingly submitting to three scary-looking injections being poked into me chin and forehead? In my defence, the syringe was full of a cortisone solution and not Botox and the problem was two humungous, painful zits that just wouldn’t go away and were impossible to camouflage with even industrial-strength makeup. Plus, I had a huge ‘do to attend in about three days and a pimply, bumpy face is definitely not the best networking accessory! So, as a last resort, I made an appointment for a cortisone shot.

Which brings us to the question: What exactly is a cortisone shot with reference to beauty? Intralesional corticosteroid injections – often simply known as steroid or cortisone shots – are used to treat deep papules, nodules or cysts that go down into the deep layers of the skin and are hence resistant to topical treatments like benzoyl peroxide or tretinoin. These pimples are often painful, can take anywhere between a couple of weeks to three months for healing and leave scars. To counter these, a dermatologist can inject a diluted corticosteroid (cortisone is a natural chemical which is released in our bodies to tackle inflammation; it should not should not be confused with “anabolic steroids”, which are drugs used for increased strength and muscle size) into an inflamed pustule. This speeds up healing and dramatically reduces inflammation. Over the next 72 hours, the blemish softens and flattens out by 40-60%. Most lesions heal within a week after treatment. Corticosteroid injections also lessen the chance of developing scars. This is especially valuable if you are prone to scarring or hyperpigmentation.

Side effects? These are unusual, but the most common one is a “sunken” appearance where the pimple used to be. This is temporary and usually vanishes within a month.

Ok, science lesson over – back to the real world. Knowing how squeamish I am about pain (and about syringes coming into my face!), my doc first numbed the area with chilled ice water. Then, she injected the spot with cortisone and quickly followed up with another ice pad. It wasn’t that painful, though I did let out a few yelps and did not think it was the most comfortable sensation. Good thing is that the whole matter was over in about 20 seconds and there was no pain afterwards. All I had to do was take an anti-histamine and then go about my day as normal. The cost? Rs. 500 per zit (it’s much cheaper in India – elsewhere costs usually begin at US$125).

By nighttime (roughly six hours after the shot), I had some redness at the injection sites. By the next morning, the zit was much less obvious and the cystic pain had vanished. A day later, there was almost no sign of the blemish – and none of the scarring that I had suffered from similar monstrosities in the past.

Cortisone, dermatologist, Injection, Corticosteroid, Cyst, pimple, acne, beauty, skincare, skin, blemish, steroid

Before the cortisone shot

Six hours after the shot

20 hours after the shot

48 hours after the shot

Would I do it again? Definitely, especially if there is an emergency or the cyst is painful! Which leads me to wonder – would I change my mind about other dermatological interventions in the future when the need actually arises? Is the next stop – ugh! – Botox?

What about you? Have any of you gotten cortisone shots? Or dealt in any other was with a pimple that was so bad you started to panic? Share the details so others can benefit from your experience!