Comments on How to Zap an Acne Breakout

Wrap an ice cube in a paper towel and hold it on wherever you are having a breakout. This might only work if you are seeing the first signs of a breakout. It works great if you usually get breakouts after waxing or threading your eyebrowws.

Use a dot of Neosporin on your zit before bed. The zit will shrink overnight and be gone within 2 days.

Try Proactiv. It really does work wonders for certain types of acne. If you don't want to sign up for their subscription service, pick up a bottle of the soap on eBay.

Don't use tape. I tried that once and it will rip your skin off if you do it enough. It leaves your face looking worse than when you started.

If you have skin like mine, toothpaste doesn't do too much. I found a product called Terasespetic works just great. You can find it at most drug stores. Use it in the shower every morning and night. But, if you have really bad skin (like cystic acne) use something called Alayra, it is a gycolic acid base, so it is fruit acid. It works great. One more product is Clyndoxil paste. Apply it to the pimple and the next morning it is reduced 60%.

I had an acne breakout on my chin the night before a big event and had to think of something quick to get rid of it. My mom suggested toothpaste and believe me, it works! The next morning, they dried up and the itching was gone. By night time, they became small enough for me to put make-up on and not get noticed. FYI, I used Colgate Total for this.

When draining the the pimple, try using two clean cotton swabs and apply pressure to both sides. That way you don't have to touch your face with your hands, which is always bad.

CamphoPhenique. Remember that little green bottle for bug bites and such? Well, this stuff dries up acne as well as soon-to-be pimples like nobody's business. Plus, it's clear, so it can be worn in public (not like toothpaste which never worked for me). I only use this on skin that is already broken. It seems to get under the skin and dry it out from the inside out. Just dip a Q-tip in the bottle and rub it gently on the acne spot. It'll be gone in no time.

It really does work! Some of the stuff in it really does help. "Skin specialists" just say that because they want you to use THEIR product and get money, don't be fulled.

I have the skin type that doesn't tan, it burns. After starting a careful tanning regimen, my face and body tanned (after years of doing the toothpaste tip for acne breakouts). Cold sore medicines work well, too! I was so desperate once that I used it and it has worked better for me ever since - fast results and no irritating toothpaste! Toothpaste burns after you apply it - cold sore medications don't!

Just for the record, tanning is damaging to skin as well. Toothpaste may work, but using a 2% benzoyl peroxide is a much wiser choice!

To clear up a popped zit without all of the pinching and painful procedures, take an ice cube, cover it with a paper towel or washcloth that's wet slightly with tap water, and place it on the pimple. Wait until either the ice melts or until your skin is cold to the touch. The pimple should be completely cleared of debris, so just apply a bit of Neosporin and voilà! No more pimple.

Take in a little steam before applying the toothpaste, the steam softens the skin. After the steam (2-5 minutes) wash the face immediately with cold water and then apply white toothpaste(not gel), it works more efficiently. This helps reduce the pimples. Believe me, I was pimple free in just 3 days.

Make sure it's 100% tea tree oil (comes in a small bottle from the health food store). Just clean your skin with a nice and mild facial soap, then apply the tea tree oil directly onto the breakout. Don't be afraid that it's an oil, it is like an astringent, it will even tingle when you apply it to where the sores are. Use it at the first sign of a pimple forming. If you do it at night, you'll wake up amazed. Use it at least twice a day. It's wonderful. Your good attitude can do a lot to distract anyones puny attention to your zits. Put a smile on your face and a sparkle in your eye. That will last a life time, the zits will heal.

Colgate Total works so well against acne because it contains antibacterial ingredients, which most other toothpastes don't have. It's OK for a quick fix (if you have nothing else to use), but definitely don't use it often.

Want to put a huge dent in your breakouts? Use the following routine: 1) Take some Milk of Magnesia, and apply it to your face. Let it dry like a mask. MOM is liquid magnesium, and is nature's most oil-absorbent product. It will literally suck the oil out of your pores. 2) Clean up with some hydrogen peroxide. Alcohol based products are not nearly as effective as hydrogen peroxide. Using alcohol makes your skin dry out quickly and then overcompensate by producing more oil. 3) Cetaphil. Bar soap or bottle. Just try it, once. You'll never go back to soap again. It is so gentle, you can leave it on your face without rinsing. Unlike any product you've ever used. I use the Cetaphil with the blue label. I apply it to take off my makeup which I wipe off with a tissue, and then I use a fresh washcloth and Cetaphil soap to deep clean. I am thirty-six and broke out until I started using this routine at 27. It will astound you. You can also use MOM under your makeup to break down on shine. Put a dime-sized dollop on your t-zone and you will be amazed.

Wrap an ice cube in a paper towel and hold it on wherever you are having a breakout. This might only work if you are seeing the first signs of a breakout. It works great if you usually get breakouts after waxing or threading your eyebrowws.

Don't use tape. I tried that once and it will rip your skin off if you do it enough. It leaves your face looking worse than when you started.

Anything with zinc works. I see lots of people like toothpaste; I used to use Maalox (at night, of course). If you have oily skin and a lot of acne, do drink lots of water, add fiber with a product like Lean n Clean, and wash with tea tree oil. Dessert Essence has a ginger-tea tree oil face wash that my skin responds to very well. And invest in a good facial every 6 weeks or so.

The problem wih toothpaste is that it damages the skin so that it won't tan any more. I don't know whether this happens after the first time or during repeated use, but I was warned by a skin specialist not to do it.

Try Proactiv. It really does work wonders for certain types of acne. If you don't want to sign up for their subscription service, pick up a bottle of the soap on eBay.

Use a dot of Neosporin on your zit before bed. The zit will shrink overnight and be gone within 2 days.

You don't want to use wart remover on your pimples. Salicylic acid is an acid, just as the name implies. You can literally dissolve a hole in your face if you do this. Salicylic acid is also used as a callous remover (that's right, the thick dead skin on your feet.) Trust me, I have used callous removers before and you can quite easily get down to the point where your skin bleeds in a matter of minutes. Leaving it on all night is definitely not recommended. Also, this process dries out the skin terribly, which can potentially make matters worse. Dry skin does not equal clear skin. When you get a pimple it's because the pore is blocked with something, trapping bacteria, which cause the skin to become infected. Generally the blockage is a combination of dead skin cells and hardened sebum. What do you think you are doing by over-drying your face? Creating more dead skin cells by drying out the surface of your skin (they need moisture,) and making the pore less elastic (meaning you will have a harder time extricating the blockage.) Sometimes drying is good, because it's much easier to squeeze out a small hard whitehead than a tiny bit of soft sebum (usually trapped under an even smaller hard blockage). If you think of your skin as a sponge, it's easier to visualize why you can't just squeeze everything out. Here are my tips for removing pimples: 1) Buy the proper tools. Go to a beauty shop and buy a proper pimple extractor. It looks like a little metal stick with wire loops on the end. Different brands make different shapes of loop so you should try out several. 2) Try to keep your face's moisture level balanced. Not too dry, and not too oily. Buy a mild face soap like Cetaphil if you find your skin is tight after washing. 3) Take vitamins like E and C, which boost the immune system and help rebuild cells before you sleep (your skin repairs itself at night.) Drink lots of water. 4) Don't use masks, they only block your pores further. When you have something trapped under the skin, your body will either flush it away gradually or you can manually push it out. Masks work by blocking the pore completely making the skin sweat in an attempt to breathe. Sometimes the fluid coming out of the pore will help the blockage come out, but most times it just makes the problem worse. 5) Proper wound care is essential. Make sure you keep your pimple clean before and especially after it's been popped. You can use first aid creams on it like Neosporin. If swelling is present you can use hemorrhoid creams or other creams. You want to look up the ingredients first if you aren't familiar with what's in them. Some things can be damaging to the skin (cortisone is one).

If you feel a hard layer over your face after the cream or lotion dries, you know it is working. This will dry up the pimple (after you wash your face), and will not let anything else in or out. Some of these are Clearasil 3 Day Treatment and Neutrogena treatment.

Crush a regular aspirin into a powder and mix it with a little water to form a paste. Cover the pimple with the paste before bed. In three nights the pimple will scab and fall off. Even taking two baby aspirin a day can help. Pimples are an inflammation, and aspirin reduces it.