Acne 101: Unexpected Beauty Products....

Hey girls and boys...so I hate to bore you AGAIN with my ongoing acne saga, but I know that some of you are probably in the same boat, right? (PLEASE say it's not just me).

Let me start off by saying I would NEVER condone or promote face-picking, but unlike others with self-control, I am a self-professed picker (and I really should burn my magnifying makeup mirror!!)

So Monday morning after ONE night of not washing my face, (unlike some girls who NEVER wash their makeup off at night and maintain beautiful skin...umm Lilan!!??)  I woke up with 3 HUGE new friends on my chin (and not just the surface kind, these bad boys were deep and angry)....and unfortunately since I am a picker... I then not only had three lovely zits, but three lovely wounds.  However, today is Friday and my face is already good to go!!! I have three really light flat, pink spots that are covered very easily with foundation...concealer is not even needed! A miracle you say? Not quite...........

Now first and foremost, remember that the process of maintaining beauty ain't always pretty...actually it can be pretty gross!!! But I have decided that it is my beauty duty to share with you what works for me...so bear with me....you will need lots of cottonballs, Q-tips, a good non-alcohol based toner, Visine, Neosporin...and a strong stomach.

First off, if you MUST pick or pop you want to minimize scarring or spreading the infection....be sure to clean the area first with a good toner (I love this one by L'Oreal...cheap and not stripping). Now taking tissue, wrap your fingers and squeeze away..(as gentle as possible of course)...and if nothing happens by god, LEAVE IT ALONE please! You risk pushing the comedone (or whatever beautiful term you want to use) deeper into your skin delaying healing.

1. Once you have extracted successfully  be sure to clean the area again with a fresh cotton ball soaked in toner.
2. Now soak a new cotton ball in Visine and applying gentle pressure hold over the pimple for at least 2 minutes..since the Visine is a vasoconstrictor it  helps cut off blood flow...resulting in less redness and swelling later on.
3. Now with your Q-tip apply Neosporin DIRECTLY to the spot....being very careful not to spread onto the skin beyond the pimple (otherwise you can risk clogging more pores).

Now this process isn't something you want to do if you have to go out in public anytime soon....I recommend doing it overnight. Once the area has calmed down, proceed to spot treat the pimple with a good Acne Treatment  (my fav right now is this one from Leaf & Rusher).  Now go get at LEAST 8 hours of beauty sleep....and enjoy the relief of waking up to clearer skin the next morning (or at least spots that can be EASILY covered by makeup).

I swear this works.....if the spot is REALLY bad (as mine were this week)..whenever I am home I clean my makeup off and walk around  the house with globs of Neosporin on. ( again...my poor hubby and kids!!) but the proof is in the pudding sports fans, I have done this for years...and have the lack of acne scars to prove it!

Be Beautiful Y'all!