The How to Get Rid of Things Blog

The words inspire dread and often a shudder: back acne. Use the term “bacne” and you may even draw a grimace. It’s one of those personal hygiene situations that doesn’t get talked about much, though we’ve all had it - unless some among us have made a deal with the gods. Exactly how acne gets all the way to our backs is questionable: genetics, hormones, chocolate bars, bad luck….no one knows for sure. So instead, most experts agree that rather than dwell on the causes, it’s better to concentrate on ways to get rid of back acne. In my latest article, I go through some possible ways to prevent back acne, but I focus on the best steps to take once it’s decided that your back is a cozy place to hang out. If you’ve been in pain because of the deep cysts that can accompany back acne, or if you’re depressed, or even if you just can’t wait to finally wear that hot new tank top, check out how to get rid of back acne.

The question is as old the study of dermatology itself: should that pulsating whitehead be popped, or is it best to let it run its course? When I used to get whiteheads, invariably someone with flawless, unblemished skin would warn me, sternly but not without compassion, that popping whiteheads would leave scars and make my acne worse. I’ve always waited until my whiteheads are ripe before harvesting, but I refuse to let them “run their natural course” - which may include growing tremendously large, feeding on my face, and then laying eggs in my brain. At the very least, I would tire of seeing the flustered look of a barely suppressed vomit on the faces of passersby. No thank you; I choose to get rid of whiteheads. That being said, there are good ways and very, very bad ways to do this job. Read my latest article to learn how to get rid of whiteheads safely and effectively.

It’s time for some changes here at How to Get Rid of Things, including the premiere of our snazzy new template here and here, and the beginning of some revisions of some of our older (and not so snazzy) pages, starting with How to Get Rid of Dandruff. Check out the revised How to Get Rid of Dandruff page for more comprehensive advice, included an added explanation of possible causes of your dandruff.

I am a big fan of bare feet. I am also a big fan of sandals. I think socks and shoes are silly and confining and more people should let their toes breathe free year-round, or at least when the weather warms up. Most people, however, are not big fans of bare feet for one reason: foot odor, and how hard it is to get rid of it. And because I know how hard it is to get rid foot odor and smelly feet, I’ve written a new page all about it — just in time for summer. Check out Get Rid of Foot Odor (Smelly Feet) for all the help you’ll need getting rid of your foot odor and wiggling your toes clean and free in the sand all summer.

How to Get Rid of a Zit is the latest page in our collection of pages all about skin care, including acne, pimples, blackheads, blemishes, and oily skin. How to Get Rid of a Zit offers advice on treating an individual zit without excessively irritating your skin, and quickly accomplishing your goal of getting rid of that zit.

It’s true that I don’t get razor bumps as often as a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t done my research and figured out how to prevent razor bumps and how to get rid of razor bumps. It’s a topic quite similar to razor burn and ingrown hairs, except that there’s actually a latin name for this problem: pseudofolliculitis barbae. Yeah, that blew me away too. Well, the problem is a real concern to men, particularly black men, because their hair curls so closely that it ends up burying itself back into the skin. With the help of a dull razor and a poor shaving technique, this can happen too often resulting in a rash that may even become infected with Staph. So yeah, it is a real medication condition and it does need to be taken care of properly.

In this article I even turned to organic & natural, vegan certified shaving and skin care products to encourage guys to take care of their skin without the use of harsh chemicals. The harsh chemicals are there, of course, but I’d rather see people avoid the problem of razor bumps than subject themselves to a chemical hair remover. I mean, that stuff can’t be good for you.

It’s not true. Corns aren’t glowing, red buttons. I swear. I know because I’ve seen my step-mother’s corns. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say she shouldn’t be wearing the shoes she’s been wearing. Honestly, ladies, you gotta stop with the high heels and the narrow toes; they’re killing your feet, literally. This isn’t just her problem, apparently. A lot of people have trouble with corns, and a lot of people can’t help it, because no matter what kind of shoe they wear, certain deformations like bunions make it impossible to avoid the pressure and friction that cause corns to appear. If you want to know how to get rid of corns, I’ve outlined some fairly rudimentary solutions to the problem. Enjoy.

There is a particular beauty and hygiene issue that comes with the winter months: split ends. A majority of the people who suffer from excessive split ends are genetically predisposed to splitting hairs, no pun intended. But, there are some things you can do to stop encouraging those hairs to split. In how to get rid of split ends, I go over my own strategy, and offer some advice about natural and organic solutions to the problem of split ends. I can’t tell you that this will work for everyone. I happen to have hair that just naturally looks good no matter what I do to it–excepting that bleaching episode several years back. I blame alcohol for that mistake.

How do you get rid of ingrown hair? Well, I’ll tell you: don’t shave your junk, or wax it. That’s my advice to you. I’ve done it and it doesn’t feel as good as you think it would. I mean, you get a good draft and that feels nice, but the itching and the pain of ingrown hairs is almost too much to bear. I guess I should have used astringent/antiseptic afterward, like suggest in the article, but I didn’t–and I learned from that mistake. Don’t worry, “how to get rid of ingrown hair” doesn’t focus on my junk so much as it focuses on preventing and treating ingrown hairs.

I won’t suggest that getting rid of wrinkles is easy. There’s a certain amount of self-discipline that’s involved in preventing wrinkles, and not smoking is the first of those disciplines. I didn’t want to quit smoking either, but I did, and I’m better off for it. I think what’s most interesting about wrinkle treatments, wrinkle care, and wrinkle creams these days is the research surrounding hyaluronic acids. It’s noted that people who eat a lot of root vegetables tend to live longer, and scientists are starting to think that it’s because root vegetables (like sweet potatoes, radishes, etc.) are loaded with hyaluronic acids, which happen to play an important role in your skin’s development, particularly in the lubrication and cushioning of epidermal tissues. Unfortunately there are some studies that suggest a connection between HA and cancer that the reader should be aware of.