Ah, the dreaded pimple. Extremely common and incredibly frustrating, pimples like to show up at the most inconvenient times. You resist the urge to pop it because you know it’s a bad idea. So, you wait it out and count the days for the zit to dry up. Don’t give in and just wait for things to happen. The next time you are faced with an angry zit, here’s what you should do.
1. Herbal Face Packs
One of the safest and most effective ways of addressing a pimple breakout is to use a herbal face pack. The packs stimulate blood circulation, rejuvenate the facial muscles, help in maintaining the skin elasticity as well as remove dirt from skin pores. Blocked pores are one of the leading causes of a zit. Pimples appear as red spots and sometimes with white color pus in the center. This happens when blocked hair follicles become inflamed or infected.
The advantages of going the herbal way are that it is non-toxic, with no adverse reactions or side effects. Herbal face packs can reduce acne, pimple scars, and help remove dead skin cells as well. While a beauty practitioner can suggest the best herbal face pack for your skin type and its usage, you can whip up an equally effective face pack at home. Skin experts would advise the preparation and evaluation of herbal face packs with local ingredients like almond, sandalwood, rose flower powder, turmeric, and green tea leaf. You could apply it for about 10 to 15 minutes, once a week.
The ingredients should be chosen according to one’s skin type, and hence a natural therapist would be the best person to assist you.1
2. Tea Tree Oil
You’ve probably heard of the pimple-fighting powers of tea tree oil. Thanks to its antibacterial and antifungal properties, tea tree oil helps to clean pores and prevent further growth of bacteria (a major cause of acne).2 And it doesn’t dry up the skin! It also helps to remove dead skin cells. But applying tea tree oil directly can be too harsh on the skin. Mix 2 drops of tea tree oil with 3 tablespoons of aloe vera gel, which is another great natural source of anti-inflammatory properties. Apply the mixture using a cotton swab on the affected areas before you sleep.
3. Honey
Honey is one of the best natural foods with high medicinal value. It is used in the preparation of cosmetic products as well. In a study conducted on acne patients, 27 individuals applied a preparation containing honey as one of the main ingredients and a significant reduction in acne was seen in 2 to 5 days with a twice-daily application. Even the acne scars seem to benefit from this treatment.3
4. Clay Masks
Clay has been used since time immemorial in beauty treatments and contains a lot of therapeutic properties beneficial to humans. Clay masks are one of the best-known treatments to counter acne or pimples.4 Clay and jojoba oil masks can also be used for effective treatment of acne. 5
5. Warm Compress
One of the simplest ways to get rid of acne and its scars is to treat it with a hot compress. The affected area needs to be washed with hot water and an emulsifier. Further, you can use hot towels on the face, followed by a saline application using hot cloth. These hot towels can be left on the face till they no longer feel hot and then the face may be washed with Castile soap.6
Getting rid of a pimple is a labor of love, for your face that is. Try to stick to natural sources because your skin deserves the best, sans chemicals!
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