Cheap Date Friday: Acne Academy

You know the feeling - you're two days away from that cocktail party, your hand swipes across your face to fix your lipstick and you feel it. You feel the deep, hard bump [whoa, pace yourself] that you know in two days will result in a pretty pimple on your pretty face.

F*ck.

I've struggled with acne all my life and still do. Stress, food, environment: you name it, it affects my skin and not in a good way. I've spent millions of dollars on lotions, potions, and everything in between and will never purchase any of that anymore thanks to these kitchen-cures that work just as well, just as fast, and are just as cheap as that girl who winked at your boyfriend last Friday night at the bar. I mean what was she thinking? Who does she think she is? It's obvious he's with you, was him holding your hand not a clear enough sign? Girls.

Girls p*ss me off sometimes, especially with relationship dramz. omg lol lmfao ttyl brb... FML.

My apologies for the quick b*tchfest, back on track now. Here are some kitchen cures for those unwelcome guests.

Toothpaste - toothpaste is great to put on any blemishes that are in the "red bump" stage or further along. The toothpaste dries out the pimple and reduces redness and inflammation, probably preventing skin cavities and skin gingivitis along the way too. The catch: it has to be white toothpase, the cheapest kind, not the fancy gel ones. And, you put it on with your finger, not a toothbrush. And, you should probably do this at night, FYI.

Tea Tree Oil - tea tree oil is usually found at healthfood stores and is amazing for your skin, and just so happens to be amazing for acne at the premature stage: where you can just FEEL it coming. At night, soak a Qtip in tea tree oil and hold it directly on the forthcoming blemish for a couple minutes, not seconds, minutes. The oil will remove the bacteria from your skin without overdrying.

Ice Cubes - I understand that not everyone carries ice cubes around with them, but here's the sitch - every book you'll read will tell you never to pick your face, and they're right. Picking creates scars, indentations, and your dirty fingers jamming in to the area around a pimple aint the best idea either. HOWEVER, if I see a whitehead, you can bet your a*ss I'm going to get rid of it - right then. So, what you can do is take an ice cube and press it into the pimple for a couple seconds. The cold will make your vessels constrict and it will take away the redness, then gently take two Qtips (not your fingers) and press down on the outer edges of the pimple. Obviously it will pop, and you can use one Qtip to clean off the blemish, while you roll the other one over the area to make sure it is completely cleaned out. Top with a little tea tree oil and no more whitehead, and no scars tomorrow.

Aspirin - when I had really bad acne I decided to try the Aspirin mask and it definitely works. This is geared more towards an area where there are several red blemishes, not one single little guy. Aspirin is an inflammatory agent and works as a topical to heal redness and swelling on your face. Catch: it has to be non-coated Aspirin (not tylenol, advil, or the mydol you're taking while enjoying your new face friends). I found the best way to use the Aspirin mask is to take a spoon and crush 7 or 8 pills into a bowl, add a touch of water and a touch of honey to create a nice texture and slap that puppy on to your face for a good 15 minutes ... fantastique

These are the methods that are currently working for me, but acne is different for everyone for sure. The best cure for acne is a good skincare regime that doesn't overdry your skin which actually causes more oil to be produced, therefore more acne. Cleanse, tone, moisturize and exfoliate 2-3 times a week. Lots of water and lots of keeping your hands in your pockets and not on your face will help too :)

Skincare Saturday is tomorrow - maybe I'll write about the skincare I used when my face was at it's worst? Yum.

xxLM