Blemish
Got a blemish? Here’s what to do
It seems that acne likes to pop up at the worst times – a blind date, a wedding, etc. Thankfully, there are many things that you can do to tame the blemish that wants to ruin your face. But there are also ways to make it much worse. To help solve all your blemish woes, here are the ways that you can put your best face forward.
If you have a few days
If you notice a blemish on your face a few days before an important event, you have plenty of time to do something about it. In most cases, a pimple will resolve itself in that time, and with a proper cleansing routine, you won’t have any others to worry about. But if you’d like to speed up the process, it’s time to get out that tube of pimple cream and start putting it on whenever you have the chance. Make sure to limit the coverage ONLY to the blemish as you don’t want to irritate your skin any more than it already is.
If you have twenty four hours
Notice a blemish right before a big day? First of all, don’t panic. What you’ll want to do is look at the blemish to see how red it is. If it’s red, you’ll want to apply an ice pack to the area to reduce the swelling and then apply a pimple cream. If there’s a raised head to the blemish, you can do more, but this isn’t something that you want to make routine. Take a thin needle and dip it in alcohol or through a flame to sterilize it. Place the needle at the base of the pimple and push into the skin slowly. You don’t have to go all the way through the skin, just enough to puncture it.
Now, DON’T squeeze. What you’ll want to do is get out a warm compress – a warm washcloth will do. Place a tip of the washcloth on the affected area for a few minutes. You are helping to draw out the dirt and the oil, hopefully reducing the need to squeeze. After a few minutes, check the size of the pimple, it should have gone down at this point. If not, gently squeeze the pimple with the warm washcloth – push toward the size and not to the top of the blemish. When you’re done, dry off and place a small amount of acne cream on top of the area.
If you have no time
If you have a last minute blemish, you’ll want to employ coverage techniques. Choose a concealer that’s the same color as your skin – not lighter as many magazines will indicate. You want to make sure that it’s not apparent that anything is wrong with that section of your skin. Softly dab the concealer on and pat to blend with your ring finger (it produces less pressure). Then apply foundation as usual and be sure to powder your face to set the makeup. Next, stop and breathe – no one will notice the blemish.