How to Get Rid of Acne Fast

How to Get Rid of Acne Fast

Sometimes, you just want to get rid of those pimples as fast as possible. Acne outbreaks always seem to occur at the worst possible moment: right before that big date, job interview, or other life altering event. So what can you do to minimize that big old ugly zit? Well, you've come to the right place. Read these five tips to help get rid of acne fast. Now, I'm not saying if you follow these tips all of your acne will vanish overnight -- getting rid of acne can be a lengthy process, BUT you can certainly do some quick "fixing" to banish that troublesome pimple!

1. Blemish Spot Treatment

Head to your local drugstore for some over-the-counter spot treatment medicine. These powerful creams deliver some serious benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid -- proven acne-fighting ingredients. You'll have to find what works best for you though as some skin reacts better to certain medicines. If you only have a limited amount of time to choose, try topical medicines containing benzoyle peroxide first. Some of these spot treatment medications can be left on overnight, while others are skin-colored to help mask that blemish while fighting it!
If over-the-counter stuff doesn't suit your fancy, you can give some acne home remedy spot treatments a shot. There are some great natural ointments for scars you can use such as Vitamin E. If you want to treat your acne itself, you can rub some tea tree oil onto the blemish a couple times a day. Tea tree oil helps reduce swelling and fights any infection you may have in your pores. Some people claim tea tree oil is as effective as benzoyle peroxide! You can also try putting some toothpaste on before going to bed and leave it on while you sleep. This has been known to reduce swelling and dry out pimples.
The key with spot treatments is to not over apply the medicine. It's tempting, I know. But if you do, you'll end up with flaky, irritated skin.

2. Hide the Blemish

If your spot treatments aren't as effective as you'd like, try a sulfur mask. Sulfur has long been used to clean and unclog pores -- it also helps to reduce inflammation of the skin. Old style sulfur masks had an unpleasant sulfuric tinge, but the new generation of sulfuric masks do not. You can find inexpensive sulfur masks at your local drugstore. Depending on the type of sulfur mask you use, you either leave it on overnight for some serious treatment or wash it off after a few minutes. Make sure you read the instructions -- you don't want to end up with dry and irritated skin from leaving the mask on too long!


3. Ice the Blemish

For some really quick treatment, use ice to bring down any swelling. This will also decrease the redness around the blemish. Don't touch the ice directly to the blemish. You should wrap it in tissue or plastic first. It's best to use this technique if you are in a quick fix (right before you head to that interview, date, etc). But it's there if you need it, and best, it's free!


4. Zap the Blemish

If you have money to burn, you can visit an esthetician. The esthetician will zap the blemish with a high frequency current (using a sort of electric rode), thus killing the bacteria that is causing the infection. No, it's painless, though you will feel a bit of a tingle. In a few hours you will see a reduction in the size of the blemish. This is very effective, but pricey solution. You can opt to buy a Zeno device, which is a sort of personal version of what the esthetician uses.

5. Acne Injections

If you have a serious cystic breakout, you should consider a cortisone injection. Note that you have to visit a dermatologist first, however. This solution is injected directly into the blemish and within a day or two, the swelling will be drastically reduced. You can use makeup and foundation to do the rest. Note this process will be at least a day or so, so it's best to do this the afternoon before your big event.

These fast acne treatments will help reduce your blemish. However, if you are looking for some more long-term solutions for how to get rid of acne, check out some of the other pimple-fighting advice on this blog.