Beauty Girl's Secrets: Week 7: Emergency Pimple Treatment

It's inevitable, you will get a pimple right before that first date you've been anticipating, your important job interview or your high school reunion. It never fails and more than anything I wish none of us had to deal with it. I'm here to help when the inevitable becomes a reality. How to get rid of that sucker and fast.

First of all you're going to have the urge to squeeze it. Don't. Not unless you have a whitehead and even then there are certain protocols to follow. We'll start there.

First off, wash those hands and well. You don't want any bacteria lingering on your hands to be transferred to an open wound. Then, grab a washcloth with warm water and press and hold it on the pimple for a while to speed up the process. A lot of times the hot water and pressure are all you need.

If that's not enough to do the trick dab the area with rubbing alcohol (if your skin isn't overly dry or sensitive) or a pimple cream containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. Either can be used for anybody so feel free to use whichever you're most comfortable with. After a few more cycles of hot water grab a couple q-tips and gently press on either side of the whitehead until it pops. Rinse the area well with cleanser and water and apply another dose of pimple medication.

Then, sometimes all the squeezing in the world isn't doing anything but don't push too hard and risk pushing bacteria deeper into the pore and leave yourself with a pimple that will take forever to go away. If worst comes to worst grab a needle, sterilize it with rubbing alcohol and pierce the whitehead, careful not to draw blood. Realize this is only a last resort, don't do this unless you absolutely have to, I wouldn't recommend it unless it's your only option. I'll admit I've done it a few times but it's always a little scary.

If your pimple is not a whitehead there are still many things you can do to reduce the size and pain. Your best option is to use the warm washcloth to alleviate some of the pain and swelling. The best thing that works for me is a gentle exfoliation, a round with my Zeno mini followed by a dose of salicylic acid. The scrub breaks down the old skin allowing heat and acne medication to better penetrate and if you don't have a Zeno, I highly recommend that good ol' washcloth and some hot water.

Let me know what works for you as some things that work for me may not work for others or I could find my new best beauty friend who can solve all my pimple worries.