I decided to pull an all-nighter and I'm bored. So this is what I came up with.

BTW... don't ask about the all-nighter.. its complicated...


The Basics
- Don't pop them. It's simple really. Don't touch them. There is no good way to pop pimples.
- Toothpaste doesn't belong on your face. Use benzoyl peroxide instead.
- Eat healthy. Drink water. Exercise. You'll notice the difference after a week.
- Use products with salicylic acid if you have acne-prone skin.
- Tea tree oil is great. You can use it straight from the bottle (100% tea tree oil) or mixed in with products (a shampoo that contains tea tree oil)
- Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque is supposed to work wonders. It isn't sold where I live though.

Popping pimples
Yeah, I said you shouldn't. But you will anyway. Heck, I will too. Here is a technique suggested by karamelle:


Acne Scars
- Vitamin E oil can be applied to scars to slowly decrease the visibilty of acne scars.
- Tea tree oil can also be applied to the scars. If you're using the pure oil, it's got a really strong smell to it. Most people don't like it but m'eh, I don't mind it.
- Emu (yes, the bird) oil. It's proven to help with almost every skin problem out there.
- Sea buckthorn seed oil helps a bit too.
- Scar-zone is a product used for scars. It can be found in places like Walgreens, CVS, etc.


Hair and Acne
Chances are if you have bangs you probably get pimples where your bangs are. Your hair gets oily after a bit, and the oil from the hair clogs up the pores on your face causing pimples. Try shampooing with products that contain tea tree oil.

Cleansing your face
-Make sure you clean your face everyday! Even though it may not seem dirty, it is. Be careful though, don't clean your face too much. When you clean your face, you are stripping it of oil. The more you clean your face the more oil glands will work to produce oil. Some people wash their faces so much they think that their skin is oily, when it actually isn't. They're just putting their oil glands into overtime.
-It is said you should wash your face morning and night, but if you really do have oily skin, the maximum times you should wash your face is thrice daily.
-If you have acne prone skin, use products that contain salicylic acid. It helps break down blackheads and whiteheads and prevents clogged follicles.
- Benzoyl peroxide releases oxygen to help kill bacteria. It also helps breakdown blackheads and whiteheads.
- You're suppoesd to use salicylic acid in the morning, and benzoyl peroxide at night.
- Be Gentle. Don't over do the medication.
- Make sure you MOISTURIZE after washing your face!
- Don't use bar soaps! I'm not sure why, but it's something like theres a residue that gets left on your face even after rinsing, which can lead to pimples. MAN! I wish I knew that before I went out and bought Clinique.
Try products like: Cetaphil, Clearasil, or Clean and Clear.




Moisturizing
- If you have oily skin, use a light moisturizer. (I currently use L'Oreal Hydraclear for oily skin)
- Usually moisturizers for oily skin are more like gels rather than lotions.
- If you have dry skin, use a product like Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. It's REALLY moisturizing. =)
- If you have normal skin, use a moisturizer designed for.. well.. normal skin!

Acne on the body
Unfortunately some of us have acne on our backs. Use a loofah (or something like it) to exfoliate with. Pour some medicated body wash (like Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub) and scrub scrub scrub. I'm testing this out, I'll tell you how it goes. ;)

The End
No matter what, no one will be able to help you more than a dermotologist. Look one up. I'm sure s/he'd help you a lot, and give you medication (retin-a, differin etc.) if you needed it.


P.S. I didn't write all of this, just think of me as someone who gathered information and put it all in one spot. I haven't tried all of this either. So don't blame me if the results aren't what you intended. If you have any questions, ask them... and I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

And feel free to post stuff that I can add to this.

Great. Now I need to find something else to occupy my time with....

I've got 2 pimples right now I popped them, my friend lent me her clena & clear pimple remover thing, and I was thinking of using alchohal in future occasions. It's so gross I look like I did something really stupid to my face..

i got my first pimple when I was 17. Which was about a month ago. Nerve-wracking. Thanks for the tips. Next time one of those things comes out, I'll know what to do.

Me too. I have the same problem with chocolate. Apparently, people don't believe me and it annoys the heck out of me. It doesn't happen to them, but at least one person out of 6 billion+ will suffer from it.

Does anyone know which products that are good have benzoyl peroxide in them? I don't want anything too costly either.

Thanks for writing this. It's very useful!

lol my mom does what tobys (spiritedfreak) mom does! she tried to pop my pimples and it hurts! it hurts! i was like uhh lemme go buy something for that and she was like ok then the hurting stopped =] now i get pimples all the time! that sucks... maybe because i dont moisoiurize! ill try that! oh thank u and im glad this is pinned! =]

[FONT=Courier][SIZE=7][COLOR=green]GOOD AVICE!!!! you did a great job!

yea i really need to stop popping my pimples! thanks for the tips. ill go get some tea tree oil heheh

Great tips thanks for sharing.

thanks 4 da tips

your mom pops your pimples FOR you?!

i dont have a lot of pimples. but ma momma said nah to pop em cuhz they gun turn into BiG uglee scars and shiet so i dont want dat ta happen. anywaiis thanks foe tha advices.

Where do you get tea tree oil? Like somewhere in Walgreens or something?

i usually have great skin but lately i have been breaking out =/. but yea i hate spots so i pop them sometimes but most time i scratch them

i have a question about that benzoyl peroxide and salcylic acid ( did i spell all that right??) well do you just put it on with a cotton ball or something? like just....put it on??? haha this may sound stupid, but you dont have to cleanse your face or anything before applying all that? well thanks for all the help!!!

Umm.. I'm not American so I dunno, but if that's the same thing as Wal-mart then yeah. lol



yeah, i clean my face before putting it on.. and i usually just put it on with my finger.

my dr says salicylic acid is just like taking a layer off your skin... don't know if its true or not...

damn i hate my skin. thanks for the help

you know what i just do instead of doing all those steps?

i just squeeze that dam thing with my two fingers until it pops.
then, after a while, there will be a scab or something.
so i just rip off that scab also.
lols.
violent i know.
but if that pimple/zit is annoying me, oh well for it.

very true, thx 4 sharing tchotchke

good thread.
yeah all that stuff is true
ive tried alot of those before
and if you keep at it everyday
theyll all be gone.

I had this totally huge problem with getting acne on my back. I just started getting it at the end of last summer and now I can’t get it to go away. I used to be fine cause ya know, long sleeves, shirts that cover everything, sweat shirts, jackets. Yeah, all that. But now it's summer time again and its time for bathing suits and tank tops etc. etc.

I went to my doctor because I had a lung infection and needed to get that checked out and when I went I started asking how I get my acne to go away on my back. This wasn't any special doctor, just my regular visit when you are sick doctor, nothing fancy. I was asking about products such as ProActive and if it worked well. She said it works for some people and others it doesn't. Then she subscribed me a prescription for, I believe, Benzyl Peroxide (If that's spelled right) and to use it every day in the shower and scrub it with a loufa (sp?) sponge. You can buy the loufa sponge anywhere, I think. I got mine with a handle at the end so it was easy to scrub, at Bed Bath and Beyond. Well, I've been using the product for maybe a month now? My back has cleared up so much.

Even if you don’t have the product the doctor prescribed me, you should still scrub. She told me this is a more common problem with girls than boys because girls use conditioner and most guys don't. She said that conditioner is very greasy, which I already knew, and when you shower the grease from the conditioner gets into your pores and that also starts the acne.

So mainly - Scrub your back in the shower every day whenever you shower AND SPECIALLY after a sport or day where you are sweating a lot.

Hope that helping anyone, I'm at school now in a free period for class, so I don't know my products exact name but I'll try to edit it in when I get home. Take it easy !!!

ok .. i learned this on queer eye for the straight guy XD
acne on your back (backne)
can be greatly reduced by washing your sheets more often the usual.

horay for the lovely tips!!!

whoa, man, this one is very helpful.

wow, thanxx. I have a habit of poppin pimples...luckily no scars, woo [[=. i member the first time i used tea tree oil. wow, do I regret usin as much as I did, it burned my eyes. It still does, but not as much. TIP:: it helps if you hhide your face in a towel for a bit after using the oil if your eyes are sensitive. Then use eyedrops. That's what I do...and it helps

lucky, i got my first in 4th grade, 9 years old