Pimple eruptions on facial skin are a common skin problem faced by most individuals, especially the youth.
It is a type of cane characterized by tender red bumps, also known as zits. Other variations of acne are whiteheads or blackheads (comedones), cysts/boils, and abscesses.
Do you know what causes pimples?
Pimples occur when the sebaceous (oil) glands attached to the hair follicles are infected with bacteria; the infection leads to the formation of red bumps filled with pus.
“The sebaceous glands are microscopic exocrine glands in the skin that secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair of mammals.”
The pimples become rampant especially when the sebum clogs the skin pores because of the accumulation of dust particles and dead skin cells in the pores of the skin.
In fact, the primary cause for the occurrence of acne is the dispensation of an excess amount of sebum (oil) by the sebaceous gland. This gland is most active in the youth; in older adults, this gland is practically non-existent.
Pimple eruption is a minor health issue, yet it is very irritating and puts people into severe anxiety.
Young people are usually very worried about a pimple as it makes them look ugly, and scars can also be left on the skin by the zits.
In this article, we are going to discuss three topics: the DOs and DON’Ts on how to avoid pimples and how to get rid of pimples fast with homemade remedies.
How to Avoid Pimple Bumps?
It is easy to avoid or minimize the occurrence of pimple bumps, more importantly on the delicate facial skin.
If your skin is highly prone to pimples, you should give more attention to preventing them before they happen so that later on, you won’t have to worry about how to remove the pimples or how to remove the pimple marks.
9 Simple Steps to Avoid Zits
1. Wash your face at least twice a day with warm water and a mild organic skin cleaner.
2. It is good to steam your face once a day (only after cleansing the face) as it helps to open the skin’s pores and increases blood circulation. It makes your skin clean, flushed, and glowing.
3. Always make sure to wash your face and neck after you return from work, games, gym, or traveling in the open. Stop pimples by cleansing the face and neck to help remove the tiny particles of dust and dirt that have accumulated on skin pores before they block the skin pores.
4. Make sure to wash off the makeup on your skin before you retire to sleep and rest in bed.
5. Applying oils to your facial skin should be stopped to avoid pimples. Not even the greasy hairs should come in regular contact with the facial skin. Better to do the oiling the hair 30 to 40 minutes before the shower and then wash it off.
6. It is good to use oil-free beauty products (non-comedogenic) as your skin already has a lot of sebum oil because the additional application of oil could aggravate the clogging of skin pores with oil.
7. Include a lot of green vegetables and fruits in your diet and minimize the intake of fried and oily foods.
8. Always keep your bath towels, pillowcases, bedsheets, and blankets clean and tidy to avoid dust and dirt accumulation on your skin.[11]
9. Overexposure to sunshine could increase pigmentation and acne on the skin. Better to avoid direct exposure of your facial skin to sunlight to prevent the aggravation of acne and pimples occurring on the face.
What You Shouldn’t Do
The pimple conditions become worse, and even more difficult to get rid of pimple scars if you try to cure the pimples in a bad manner. Do not panic with zits; they need to be treated mildly and gently.
Here are some things you should never do when you have pimple bumps on your face and other parts of the body.
- Don’t squeeze or pick at your pimples.
- Pimple popping should be avoided as it will worsen the condition and might create stubborn pimple scars on your skin as well.
- Avoid often looking at zits in a mirror or feeling it with your fingers and nails…psychologically it is the sight of zits that prompts you to pick at them.
- Do not touch the pimples with your hands, and even if you touch them, your hands must be free of dirt and oil on them.
- Do not expose your skin to direct sunshine, as it will aggravate acne conditions. Try to use a good-quality organic sunscreen lotion if you cannot avoid being in the sun.
- Don’t scrub hard, and don’t use a washcloth on zits affected areas of the skin. The harsh skin scrubs are always bad for the skin.
- Don’t use gels, hairspray, deodorants, and synthetic cosmetics on pimples-affected areas. It will further clog the pores on the skin and aggravate acne conditions.
DIY Removal of Pimple
The best treatment for pimples is home remedies. There are several home remedies for pimples you can easily do yourself. If I am going to explain all of them, this article will be very long to read….I will just limit only to the most common ones and mention them only in a gist.
1. Steaming the Facial Skin
Steaming of the facial skin quickly opens up the clogged pores and oxalises the skin tissues. It removes the clogged oil, bacteria, and dirt from the skin pores and reduces the infection that causes the puss and bumps on the skin.
2. Ice Treatment for Pimples
External application of ice cubes on pimple-affected areas of the skin will help in reducing redness, swelling, and inflammation of pimples. You could wrap the ice cubes in a piece of clean linen, hold it onto the affected areas for a few minutes, and repeat the same after a few hours.
3. Lemon for Curing Pimples
Lemon juice extract is an excellent home remedy for pimples. There are remedies that you can prepare with lemon juice extract alone or mixed with other herbal ingredients. We shall discuss only a few of the common ones here.
Direct application (preferably use a clean cotton swab) of fresh and pure lemon juice extract on zits affected areas dries off the puss and reduces the bump. Repeat his procedure a couple of times to get the maximum result.
Prepare a lotion/paste made out of 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and apply this paste over the zit-affected area. Leave it there overnight and wash it off in the morning (a real solution to question the ‘how to get rid of pimples overnight!). Warning: cinnamon paste may cause some irritation to some people’s skin.
Another good natural pimple treatment is making a mixture of one teaspoon of lemon juice with one teaspoon of groundnut oil and applying it to the facial skin to cure the pimples.
Lemon juice mixed with an equal amount of rose water applied onto the pimple boils will help in reducing the infection. Leave the application to remain over the area for 30 minutes before washing it off. This procedure could be repeated two or three times a day for better results.
For the cure and getting rid of the pimple scars, it is good to make use of Lemon juice mixed with sandalwood and cinnamon powder. This lotion or paste could be applied to the zit-affected area of the skin and left there for at least 30 minutes before cleansing it off. Repeat this procedure twice a day till the pimples vanish totally.
4. Tea Tree Oil for Pimple Treatment
The antibacterial properties of tea tree oil can fight the bacteria that cause pimple bumps.
The application of tea tree oil, with a cotton swab, on the affected areas reduces the inflammation and redness of the zit.
The tea tree oil also could be mixed into one teaspoon of aloe vera gel and used in the same way for better results.
5. Cinnamon for Curing Pimples
Cinnamon is well known for its excellent medicinal qualities. Just like tea tree oil, cinnamon also has antimicrobial properties that will dispel the bacteria causing the zit. Cinnamon oil can also fight the bacteria that cause the zits.
One teaspoon of cinnamon powder to be mixed with one teaspoon of honey to form a face pack; apply this face pack on the facial skin and leave it there overnight, or you may wash it off after an hour. If this procedure is repeated for a week or two, the pimple bumps with stop showing up.
6. The Fenugreek Remedy for Pimples
Fenugreek leaves and seeds are popularly used as a major ingredient in several herbal medicines. It is also a quality spice used as a tastemaker in the preparation of dishes.
To cure the pimple, the ground fenugreek leaves in paste form need to be applied over the zit-affected area of the skin and washed off after an hour. Repeat this procedure once or twice a day for a week or two, and the pimples will vanish with this treatment.
7. Turmeric for Healing Zits
I am sure that you already know about the effectiveness of turmeric powder in treating various skin issues. It contains anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that can effectively cure the zits.
Turmeric is one of the most popular home remedies for pimples, acne, and scar removal.
Make a paste with turmeric powder and honey/water; apply this paste to the affected areas of the skin. You can wash off the application after 30 minutes with warm water.
It is also good to add a teaspoon of sandalwood powder to the turmeric paste for the removal of pimple scars.
You need to wash the skin with warm water and a good cleanser to remove the color of the turmeric powder from the skin as it is a quite stubborn color that won’t go away that easily.
8. Garlic Paste for Reducing Pimples
The allicin compound found in garlic is a good antibiotic and antibacterial substance.
It is good to apply garlic paste over the zits or just rub a crushed clove of garlic over the affected area. This process could be repeated twice or thrice a day for a week, and with this treatment, the pimples will begin to disappear soon.
9. Applying Toothpaste on Pimples
One of the strange remedies for curing pimples is the humble toothpaste we normally use for brushing our teeth.
Apply a bit of white toothpaste on the pimples before you go to bed. In the morning, you will notice that the size of the pimple bumps has shrunk a lot smaller.
If you are wondering how to get rid of pimples overnight, try this toothpaste remedy; it might give you some good results.
Toothpaste has ingredients such as baking soda and hydrogen peroxide that are drying agents. No wonder the pimples dry overnight with the application of toothpaste.
Final Thoughts
The occurrence of pimples is a minor skin issue; in most cases, this can be easily prevented and cured with home remedies. It is actually the forceful crushing and picking of the pimples that make the issue worse and could form deep zit scars on the skin.
Only in some individuals do pimples become aggressively severe and cannot be cured with ordinary home remedies. In such cases, the person needs to undergo prolonged medication under the supervision of a professional dermatologist.
Lastly, do you like to know how to pop a pimple correctly?