I recently did a blog post on how to take excellent care of your skin during summers and monsoons. And rather presciently, I also mentioned in the post that despite best practices pimples do pop up. It was as if the universe was listening to me. And voila! The very next day I woke up with a zit. And it’s sitting nice and red on my right cheek, very close to my nose, as we speak (or as I write).
So what have I been doing about my skincare?
And more importantly, what should YOU do when the zits are popping up? Should you completely stop the skincare regimen? Should you try to matiffy the skin with lots of powder and OTC anti-acne creams? Should you pop the pimple because, well, it’s puss-y? (For the love of god, whatever you do please don’t EVER ever ever pop a pimple. Trust me on that! I’ll write about this in detail later.)
Here are some very clear answers for you, based on my very real and very fresh experience of looking after a zit.
Stop using all greasy products
That means serums, creams, or lotions the moment you feel a zit coming on. While pimples are notorious for popping out of nowhere, sometimes they do give you a heads-up. When you feel itchy in a particular area and can clearly see the redness and/or a little bit of inflammation, pay attention!
Stop your usual products, and grab an OTC cream that snuffs out pimples at an early stage. Clindamycin gel is a good option and so is Benzoyl Peroxide (5%) gel. Some people put on plain white toothpaste which is supposed to dry out the pimple overnight. This has never worked for me and washing away dried toothpaste from an already delicate area is not something I enjoy. But you could give it a try and see if it works for you.
Wash the zit area very delicately
You’ll need to continue washing your face as well as the zits with an anti-bacterial soap or a gentle face wash but do so carefully as you move towards the zits. You don’t want to do anything to further aggravate them. Try to use normal temperature water to wash your face and splash on some cold water on it afterwards (to close the pores).
I don’t use toners as they make my skin worse – greasier and even more pimply. If toners don’t mess you up, you can use your trusted toner as usual. In any case, we do need to close those pores.
Splash your face with cold water every now and then
Humidity causes pores to remain open. The sebaceous glands that produce oil go into overdrive in such weather and keep producing oil non-stop. Pimples, therefore, are always just around the corner. To stop that, keep splashing your face with cold water through the day. No need to use any products. The cold will close the pores and control oil production. You could rub your face with ice, too, if that doesn’t cause you to flinch. Follow up with baby powder or a prickly heat powder. Prevention is cure, here, remember.
Wipe the face dry with a facial tissue
Instead of using a cloth-based towel, use a facial tissue or a kitchen towel to dry your face. Dab it very gently over the zit area.
Be quick with the application of anti-acne creams
With pimples we need to catch them fast. If you let a pimple dry out for a day or two, the creams will likely be less effective. Apply your topical cream on the zits for the recommended amount of time.
Keep up the use of a calamine lotion on the rest of the face
It’s up to you to leave the face bare but I find that only leads to a buildup of grease, especially in humid weather, which will worsen existing acne and cause more to grow. In most cases it’s not a great idea to leave oily skin bare; it needs some sort of mattification – with only the degree of it varying with the weather. A mix of a tiny bit of calamine lotion and baby powder (or prickly heat powder) just once a day on the facial area unaffected by the zits works reliably towards oil- and sweat-control.
Anti-acne facial oils are A-OK to use
In the nights you could use your anti-acne facial oils and essential oils. These are meant to treat acne so will do your skin no harm; on the contrary, they will nourish it overnight. But either leave the zits alone or dab the oils on them very gently with a cotton ball. This depends totally on you, however. There’s no harm in putting acne-fighting oils on the zits as long as it’s done properly and carefully.
Continue using the night eye cream
The eye area is rather delicate and needs nourishment regardless of the weather. It also never breaks out. So keep using your eye cream.
Continue moisturizing the neck area
Because you don’t get pimples on the neck and similar to the eye area, the skin here is also delicate. It needs regular moisturizing regardless of what is going on with the face.
Don’t forget your lip balm
Keep the lips well-nourished.
Don’t oil your hair
Because oil on the scalp tends to leak onto the forehead and contribute to acne. And while we are at it, keep the scalp clean.
Isolate the cause of the acne
If it’s body heat or hormonal, act accordingly. At the moment, it’s a mix of the two for me. What I’ve done is cut out all the foods that contribute towards body heat – for me that includes my regular cup of masala chai in the morning, unfortunately. And I’m having lots of cold water, watery fruits, and yoghurt. These tend to cool me down and help control heat-related pimples. I’m also approaching that time of the month, so I know the zits will calm down soon enough.
Don’t use base make-up at all
I’m stating the obvious, but I must state this. Give your skin a break. Let the pimples play themselves out. These things are almost cyclical. I mean, acne seems to have a life cycle of its own, and it may or may not be related to your menstrual cycle. Let it play out. The pimples will be gone soon.
What do you do when you are breaking out? Have any great tips? Please comment below or connect with me on Instagram to share your experience.
See you later!
