So, what should you do when you get a very bad blind pimple?
Have all the products and tools and time you need. Do this at night so you aren’t rushed and don’t need to worry about your makeup/appearance in general.
Hold an ice cube. Wrapped in a few layers of tissue on the spot for three minutes on, then six minutes off. Do this twice, which will reduce swelling.
Have a shower. The steam will help the head of the pimple come up.
Fill the sink with warm-to-hot water (but not so hot as to burn your skin). And dip a face cloth in. Hold the hot face cloth on the zit as a compress, until the face cloth cools. Re-dip it in the hot water, and hold it on the zit again. Do this for five minutes.
Take a breath. Check Instagram, or have a Milo or something. This serves no purpose, it’s just more fun this way.
Apply a “drawing paste” directly onto the zit. This is a clay-like product that will bring the head of the spot up, usually as you sleep so that you will see the whitehead before morning. Invest in one – it will last you AGES since you use such small amounts.
I love Mario Badescu’s Pimple Drying Lotion (available from MECCA here), which combines a drying salicylic acid liquid with a pink clay paste. Payot Pâte Grise (available via Adore Beauty here) is also great.
- If, the next day, you have a red, tender area with no sign of a whitehead, NO TOUCHY TOUCHY! Just cover with concealer and set with powder so the shine doesn’t come through.
Repeat the whole process detailed above at night. This might go on for a few days – be patient. On the plus side, some blind pimples never erupt and the whole thing just fades away. Imagine that!
When you see an obvious whitehead. It’s time to gently extract (ideally at night, so it can heal as you sleep). Do the hot water in the sink compress thing again for a few minutes to get the skin ready, then wrap half a tissue around each of your index fingers. Put a finger each side of the whitehead, then carefully, very gently, with NO NAILS INVOLVED push down on the sides, then kind of roll your fingers upwards to encourage the head to pop out. What you’re trying to do is get down deep and push the tail end of the white gunk up and out. Gross.
Once the whitehead is out. There should be no blood! – it’s REAL important you apply a purifying lotion with a cotton pad to the area (I like Garnier’s Pure Active Daily Pore Purifying Toner). This keeps infection away and will help it heal.
Leave it alone now. No makeup, please. (Although there are some concealers with pimply drying ingredients in them that will be OK if you cannot live without cover up.)
It will flake a little. Over the next few days; use something nourishing and healing on the area, like Go-To Exceptionoil, and it will be good-as in no time.
What NOT to do when you get a very bad blind pimple:
Pick, pop or squeeze it. At soon as you see it or feel like it’s on its way. THIS IS A WORSE IDEA THAN EATING DIRTY BIN SCRAPS. All it will do is give you a week’s worth of infection, redness, an impossible-to-conceal mess and a scar. Don’t do it. Not worth it. Ever.
Apply something too strong too many times and burn the skin. Whichever product or technique you use (even the ice and hot compress above are strong), it will work best if you do as recommended, not make it up as you go.
Draw attention to it. By whining to everyone about your “huge zit”. No-one even noticed ’til you drew attention to it, you gorgeous fool! And even if they did, it’s no big deal. They get them too, you know.
Overcompensate. With way too much foundation and concealer. It will only draw more attention to your skin. Apply concealer ONLY to the spot in question, not everywhere, and play up your eye makeup (if you wear it) to draw focus to those gorgeous jewels instead.
- Track down the blind pimple’s family and threaten them.
You can buy Zoë’s Go-To skin care at www.gotoskincare.com.au
