Home Remedies for Pimples

Take good care of your skin to keep it clear. Don’t get too much sun. Don’t put greasy makeup, lotion, or sunscreen on every day. Take your makeup off before going to bed. Don’t touch your face a million times a day and don’t pick at acne. Only wash your face a time or two a day with a gentle cleanser, no more. More washings do not equal clearer skin, as it needs some oil to stay healthy. If you have dry skin, invest in a good moisturizer.

Stick to a cleansing regimen with good products. You have tons of options here, just walk down any skin care aisle at a drugstore and you won’t know where to start. Salicylic acid is a common, effective ingredient in acne products. Harsh scrubs can actually irritate your skin more and inflame acne, so avoid those. If you have a lot of pimples along your hairline, oils from your hair are probably to blame, so washing your hair thoroughly can take care of that. If you don’t know what to look for, several companies make sets of products that work well together.

Choose other skin care products while keeping your skin type in mind. The big thing to remember here is to choose water-based products, not oil-based. You probably already have too much oil on your skin, so adding more is just a bad idea. And look for products with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. These help your body dry out excessively oily skin and rid itself of dead cells. They make body washes with these ingredients if you’re getting pimples in other areas.

If OTC washes, lotions, and astringents aren’t doing it for you, talk to a dermatologist. These people know skin in and out and they’ll get you fixed up. Your dermatologist might suggest putting you on common acne medications like tretinoin, adapalene, tazarotene, clindamycin, benzoyl peroxide, or erythromycin. Other medications that can calm down your angry skin include birth control pills (for the ladies only, obviously) or antibiotics. Birth control regulates hormones and antibiotics go after bacteria—both causes of pimples.

Simple procedures like microdermabrasion or laser therapy can reduce acne. This would also include laser or light therapy and chemical peels. Know straight off the bat that these procedures will probably leave your skin very red, irritated, and sensitive immediately afterward, but not for too long. Laser and light therapies aim to damage your oil-producing glands, lowering production rates, while microdermabrasion and chemical peels remove the outermost layer of skin, leaving a smoother lower layer. A skin removal process is a good option to reduce acne scars, although it’s kind of creepy to think about peeling off a layer of skin.

If you're going to pop them...

You really, really, really should not pick, squeeze, pop, or otherwise disturb your pimple, even though I’m sure you really, really, really want to. All it’ll do is leave you with an even bigger, redder spot that is now more open to infection. It will go away on its own. But if you absolutely must pop that pimple for whatever reason, then do it as cleanly as possible. This is going to sound intense for such a minor thing as squeezing a pimple, but it’s the best way. And maybe if it’s complicated enough, you’ll decide to just leave that thing alone. Wait for the offending pimple to be almost ready to burst. Wash your hands and the area in question. Then either hold gauze, tissues, or Q-tips with the tips of your fingers on each side of the pimple and squeeze gently until you see the first bit of blood. Afterward, wipe some alcohol over the spot to kill any bacteria hanging around.