Tricks to Avoid Getting Caught with a Spot

For the first time in years I have broken out with two very red, very visible pimples...smack in the middle of my forehead.

Back when I had acne, this would be a daily occurrence - and people around me would give me tips on how to treat them. I know, I know they were trying to help, but often it was simply bad skin advice (and embarrasing!). I have heard so many bad blemish tips that I am surprised my face is not full of scars - like when my aunt told me to swim in chlorinated water to dry them out, or my former drama teacher's bauty wisdom: to take a bit of my mother's perfume and dab it on each spot. Not only would the high percentage of alcohol blast them of my face, but I would smell like the first floor of a department store.

Well, for those of us who get the occasional zit, here is what you should really do, from an esthetician who went through a decade of terrible break outs:

Germinating Break outs

Like with all things, pimples do not simply appear, but evolve. Sometimes you even have the pleasure of seeing a pimple mature -starting as something small, a little red bump with no visible white pus, slowly gets bigger and bigger, becoming more and more gross. This is commonly when people try to pick their faces, leaving them looking scabbed, and the blemish returning in the next day or so. The best thing to do is to moisturize them - and that is what I did.

Because they had not formed a head, I just slathered on a heavy cream with oil over top of the cream, for a layering of anti-pimple antidote. In two days my blemishes were gone - I avoided them getting to full-sized pimples, but more importantly, I avoided scarring. Now, if you are too late and the pimple is on its way to full blemishdom, this will still help it come out faster, and the faster it comes out, the faster you can get rid of it.

Mount Fuji on Your Face

When you have to deal a blistering pimple, (probably right before public speaking with your ex boyfriend in the audience), there are a couple of things you can do.

If you must get rid of the spot the day of - you need to pick it. So get down and dirty and steam your face for 5 minutes (after cleansing of course), tissue your fingers, and extract it. The pimple should feel flatter and you should have removed all of the pus. Quickly disinfect with an alcohol-free antiseptic like Organic Witch Hazel (using alcohol can lead to scarring), dab the spot with Green Clay and let it sit until the clay is dry to touch. This will not only close up the picked pimple, but also calm the irritated skin and draw out any impurities you didn't take out. After you remove the spot treatment, apply a soothing moisturizer and apply make up.

But this is only in beauty emergencies, if you have a couple of days, I suggest the gentler, less risky solution: dry it out. There is more than one way to do this, but the objective is to dry out the spot, but nor your skin. I recommend applying a Clay Mask just on the blemish and leaving it overnight. After two nights the pimple should be gone or at least significantly reduced. Don't use a very diluted clay or a kaolin clay - they will not be potent enough.

Another route is to use Himalayan Salt. A friend of mine told me that she mixes a pinch of salt with water and dabs it on before bed. Whatever you use, I suggest it be natural and only on the blemish itself - you don't want to dehydrate your healthy skin.

The Cystic Pimple: An underground killer

Sometimes you get those deep, underground boil-like blemishes that do not come to a head at all. We call this Cystic Acne, or Blind Pimples. In these cases, bacteria has gone into the dermis layer of your skin and this deep seated, infected fluid is what causes the painfulness of Cystic Pimples. If you have many Cysts, and break out with them often - you may need to disinfect internally. This is why anti-biotics are so effective for this type of break out - but I have prescribed Neem capsules with excellent results. Neem is a blood cleanser, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial and also anti-inflammatory.

Topically, you must stimulate the area. Because this stagnant fluid is Kapha-like in its quality, it can stay on the skin for months at a time in some situations. Applying arnica cream of water heals the area and promotes circulation which will break up the cyst and encourage it to drain. I have personally extracted my own cystic pimples by puncturing it with a sterile needle and removing the fluid, but I would not recommend anyone doing this without a professional. The arnica route is much gentler, and again, evades the risk of scarring.

Below: Dalila at Pure + Simple Oakville, extracting her client professionally with steam.

Strategies to Preventing Skin Scarring (and the anxieties which come with them)

I have burnt myself three times this week, causing three beauty tantrums - they all began with my wailing about inevitable scarring! And they all ended with Ben comforting me (and probably rolling his eyes discretely) while I devised a scar-preventing game plan. Despite the fact I have resolved to be less OCD about my skin, scars are something I cannot help but obsess over. Its a good thing I know a thing or two about treating scars.

So, this week, I thought to help those who scar easily (and as sort of a pledge to myself to stop being so clumsy) I would devote this post to solutions for preventing and healing scars.

Scarring is caused by skin trauma. Whether its the aftermath of a large blemish or the melanin response to a sun burn, a scar is caused by inflammation. Skin which is darker will scar more easily, as will skin which is dehydrated. But when preventing the onset of a permanent skin mark, the source of the inflammation will be key in dictating what route of treatment to take.

Acne scars: If the scar is from acne, the best thing to do is nourish your skin. Vitamin E and Organic Rosehip Oil have done wonders for many of my clients - but if your skin is still breaking out, I would alternate the Organic Rosehip Oil with Jojoba oil to prevent over-stimulating your skin and causing another break out. Encouraging collagen production with skincare loaded with Vitamin C is also excellent, or just go straight to the source and use a Collagen Serum.

Now, if the scars have been there for some time, you must determine if they are "young" or "old". Young are red or brown marks which can still be cleared up by Organic Rosehip Oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin C or Collagen. Old scars are whitish silver in colour, or come in the form of pitted marks. These scars must be deeply exfoliated follwed by the previously mentioned nourishing topicals. Pitted marks the hardest to reverse, and extensive Seasalt Microdermabrasion or Laser Treatments are the only effective options.

Burns: When you burn your skin, preventing pigmentation is very different from how we treat potential acne scars. Avoid oil and keep the skin cool. Oil increases heat in the skin (think of how we use cooking oil to increase the heat of a pan) - and the more inflammation, the deeper the burn. Use water-based ingredients like Aloe Vera gel until the skin loses its redness. Apply cooling gels multiple times per day to keep the skin moist as dehydrated skin does not repair properly. If the skin is hot to touch apply cold compresses. In my case, it took an entire week's rotation of Aloe Vera gel, Collagen gel and Pure + Simple's Soothing Mimosa Emulsion (excellent for burns as nit contains the restorative Japanese Honeysuckle).

When you start to peel, just keep moisturizing and do not exfoliate. I always say, Peeling is healing - and any itchiness you may feel from this peeling is a small inconvenience to endure to prevent a permanent mark. When the redness has gone, your skin will either be completely back to normal or left with a brown mark. If this happens, begin using Organic Rosehip Oil everyday.

Burn scars which have been there for a long time often disappear after 1-3 years as the skin turns over. But often cases of multiple sunburns translate into pesky pigmented lesions which are resistant to fading. In these situations, IPL is a highly effective option.

Nicks and scrapes: For the pigmentation-prone, even little nicks and scrapes can result in a scar. In these cases, ensure the area has been cleaned, then use Organic Lavender Essential Oil straight onto the affected area. This oil with disinfect and promote faster healing. A scab will firm, and be sure not to remove it.... not matter how tempting. I'm talking to the same people who pick their pores when they know they shouldn't(!) When the scab falls off, the skin should not show any remnants of the trauma. Lavender oil is the only essential oil you should use straight onto the skin without dilution and avoid the eye area.

I personally used it for a tear on my face a few years back. After putting dozens of products on it without progress, I stumbled into using Organic Lavender Essential Oil in my frenzy. I found that this simple oil both healed and disinfected my skin, promoting scabbing almost immediately.