It’s like Kajagoogoo (oh children of the 70s/80s) but pusier. Why does the word pusier never translate to text very well? Pus. i. er. as in yellow stuff, not… oh, nevermind. Look, I’m talking zits. Spots, pustules, pimples, blind boils, are you eating? Sorry.
I’m talking about the ones that grow their own head (arms, torso and a pair of legs) overnight. You can often feel them brewing in advance… and of course, knowing that the last thing you should do in. the. world. is touch it, you spend all day picking at it, poking around it and generally coaxing it to come out and sing too shy, shy, hush, hush, eye to eye.
So what are your options? Don’t say toothpaste or I will mock you.
Well, you could cover it with a big granny-tights coloured plaster and just pretend it’s not there. This is fine if it’s somewhere discreet, like on the soles of your feet but not so good if you can a). see it or b). reach it. Basically, it’s a rubbish option because you know that within five minutes, you’ll have that plaster off and will be digging around with it again until you get the skin-picking guilts.
How about some topical treatments? Some people swear by Sudocrem but the only tub I have in the house has actually been used for it’s intended purpose and I just don’t fancy it.
Then you’ve got your topical treatments. In all manner of guises…
The ones that I’m dabbling in at the minute are The Sanctuary’s Blemish Serum* which helps to calm the redness and general rage that accompanies the facial intrusion. BareMinerals Blemish Remedy* which comes in a powder form and contains sulphur to draw the bugger out more quickly and finally, La Roche Posay’s Effaclar A.I which keeps making me think of that film with Jude Law in it which works both as an anti-bacterial and exfoliator to promote faster healing. It feels hugely comforting to have a dedicated blemish-buster to tote around in your handbag.
And finally, you’ve got the ever-faithful aspirin mask. I actually put quite a lot of stock in the value of this remedy, especially as a way to get the blighter to look a little less inflamed before an evening out.
But I wanna know, what do you do when you feel a particularly unholy zit brewing?
* press samples
Teatree oil, the body shop 15% one always does the trick for me although I have to admit I can’t resist popping and picking spots even though I know it will make them worse!
I swear by sudocream but have heard origins do a good spot treatment too. I don’t often suffer with spots often get angry ingrown hairs (sexy), i smother them in sudocream at night and the redness and soreness is so much better in the morning x
Ooo, this is handy to know about the aspirin mask! I heard that it’s good for exfoliating but I didn’t know it was good for problematic spots too. I have never tried the aspirin mask ever, must give my elbows a go, as they’re black with build up of fake tan (I know, disgusting!)
What I use for problematics spots is ‘Dermalogica Overnight Medicated Clearing Gel’. I am ashamed to say that the bottle I’ve been using was first opened 5 years ago but the bottle is massive and I don’t have spots like these very often. The stuff is fantastic, I want to buy a new pot (cos it bugs me I am using a pot opened 5 years ago) but there is still some in there and it does the job. If only they did bottles 1/4th of the size. Plus the bottle is very hygienic: you squeeze the amount you want onto a cotton bud and you apply on the desired area.
What it does: it helps the spot grow out quicker. If it’s in the stages of growing and you can’t squeeze it, it will help its procress of appearing and disappearing. If you’ve been playing with it like mad, and squeezed it and everything, it will help heal, and dry nicely. The stuff is great! A good £20 so not cheap at all. next I want to try medik8 which I have seen on bbb.
I get a lot of those horrid deep spots on my chin, and I’m a cheapskate so I just use a tiny dab of manuka honey mixed with a little vitamin C powder as soon as they make themselves known. They’re gone within three days, tops. A big jar of the good 10+ active stuff is about ten quid at Sainsbury’s.
Well if I get an unholy spot… in truth, I prod it a bit, cry a bit, Pile on a megacraptonne of concealer and then spend the next few days irritating it until it looks a billion times worse making any treatment product I use useless. I then pile on two megacraptonnes of concealer. In about three months my spot is gone! Voila!
hope that helps!
REN Clear Calm 3 facial wash – haven’t tried any of the rest of the range but brings many of mine under-control in 24 hours. I had a weeks sample originally but purchased on the basis of that and loved.
Murad Blemish & Wrinkle Reducer (PR Sample) but one of the best anti spot treatments I’ve used. I had a brilliant one from Aldi a few years back but typically it was a one off and hasn’t been seen since. It had something in it that mitigated against drying and damage to the good cells whilst dealing with the infected ones – which is what you need.
I am incredibly lucky in that I very rarely get spots and when I do they are not too bad/don’t last long.
*touches wood*
I just tend to use a bit of tea tree exfoliating face scrub (Superdrug’s own) and pop a bit of concealer on the next day. Very minimal.
I shall keep your advice in mind in case I get a naughty big one!
I’m also an Effaklar fan, but I haven’t tried AI yet – I’ll have to.
I usually try to wash my spotty bits around my jawline with a Sebamed bar. (I’m 46 – I should NOT have spotty bits, I’m middle aged!) And I’ve found that Tea Tree oil helps a bit. The Grease Lightning aloe vera/ tea tree gel from Lush is good too.
I swear by Zapzyt. You know that cheap tube of cream that they only sell @ Walgreens? Stuff works like magic.
Cheap yet effective:
– Panoxyl 2.5% (over the counter stuff)
– Nixoderm is really good in drying them up too, search on ebay – around £2!
– Sudocrem
Queen Helene Mint Julep mask is really good too, I’ve done a review on it recently on my blog.
Quinoderm. I discovered this bargain spot cream last year and it has literally transformed my skin! You have to ask for it at the pharmacy, but it is surprisingly gentle. Works wonders on zits and also as a preventative measure!
I actually laughed out loud to this, so funny!
I’m really liking Origins Super Spot treatment at the moment, it really reduces the redness, and keeps our lovely friends at bay 😉
Laura xoxo
I’ve just made use of the third off French Pharmacy brands offer on Escentual to launch a campaign to try to clear up my horrible PCOS skin (at 46 I should NOT be having zits like this!), so I’ll let you know if anything turns out to be particularly good. I added Effaklar AI to the order in the hope that it will turn out to be a lifesaver when I do break out yet again.