Whiteheads and Inflamed Pimples: Why your overnight treatment should be different!

“How to get rid of a pimple quickly” is probably the thing you’ve Googled more than once in your life. You have a big event coming up. You have to see your future in-laws, maybe that dreaded ex, a suave new date?

Somehow you end up with an unexpected zit on your face a few days before. UGH, nobody got time for that!

You scramble to apply everything and anything to your face to get rid of it, because all your serums, oils and drying out solutions will obviously work together in overdrive, right??? WRONG! You can’t always get rid of a pimple overnight but there are tons of things you can do to shrink your zits significantly. We’re going to take a look at some of the best treatments for different zits.

If you end up with an embarrassing whitehead or one of those red painful bumps we all look for overnight fixes and something to get rid of it fast.

Sorry, but there is no "MIRACLE SOLUTION."

Think about when you’re sick; you can’t take 3 different medications and expect to be better overnight. Depending on how sick you are and how much rest you get it usually takes a few days for your body and immune system to adjust.

Most people are doing there “overnight” treatments all wrong and will put their treatment on ANY bumps that appear on their face without distinguishing what treatment is best for that type of pimple.

What you need to know is that you should always treat whiteheads and cysts (or under the skin flare-ups) differently. I also hope you’re not putting toothpaste on your face, that’s probably the worst thing you could do!!

More than likely you’re putting on some drying medication on your face, maybe benzoyl or some miracle oil you’ve had?

Benzoyl Peroxide is a great option for MOST pimples as it’s used to kill the p.acne bacteria. The best concentration of benzoyl peroxide for most people is around 2.5%. It is best to use on the surface of a whitehead to kill the bacteria. If you want to step up your game I would look for a solution with benzoyl peroxide and sulfur. This mix is best used on whiteheads to kill the bacteria that has come to the surface and the sulfur is used to dry it out. This will quickly also lead to quickly healing the area.

However, to use this method on a flare-up (under the skin) can do more damage than good. This type of pimple is the most difficult and stubborn to treat. You can’t have it popped and it’s super inflamed, and most times painful to touch. Because this type of breakout is under the skin, drying it out will make it more irritated and inflamed; the benzoyl isn’t reaching any bacteria to kill neither will any other retinol serums or exfoliating products.

In this case, your treatment should be to roll an ice cube over that pimple area morning and night or as often as you can.

Avoid pressing the ice cube in too hard or holding it over one place for too long. Ice takes away the swelling by reducing inflammation around the pimple, while also killing the top layers of skin cells via a process called 'cryotherapy' to help acne medications reach the lesion easier, kill bacteria, and bring down the inflammation. Much like you ice a sprained ankle when its red and swollen! Once you notice the swelling coming down from continually icing the area, you can start applying your solution overnight after the icing process.

There is a huge difference in overnight treating different kinds of acne.

So the next time you are reaching for your overnight solution make sure you remember this advice!