Why do some pimples hurt?
Because painful pimples are inflamed from the inside. It comes out of the skin as red, swollen & angry pimples that hate to get touched!
What does inflammation mean here?
A condition in which bacteria attacks & infects our blocked pores & hence our immune system tries to fight off the bacteria, leading to the term called inflammatory acne which physically looks like hot, red, swollen, cystic acne & painful pimples. Why pimple hurt? So, when you try to wash your face or put moisturizer on, you touch pimples & since they are already vulnerable, they kinda hurt!
What is in those blocked pores?
Gunk, Dirt, Excess Oil, Dead skin cells, hair follicles & Bacteria
How should you stop the pain & treat the inflammatory painful acne?
Treat from inside & outside both! Read till the end to know how to deal & calm the angry pimples so that they stop damn hurting.
Defeat painful pimples & cystic acne with 3 changes at home
- Balanced Hormones
- Healthy Lifestyle Changes
- Correct products
This might sound boring but there isn’t any shortcut that works trust me! Your whole pimple & cystic acne condition can majorly be rounded up to these 3 points
To begin with,
Balanced hormones
- Fluctuated jumpy hormones will obviously cause troubles not just in acne form but in many more ways. Hence, we got to fix that!
- How?
- Take a complete hormone blood test, it should include hormones & all kinds of vitamins in the test.
- Results will give you a very clear inside picture of your body. If you have any ups or downs in the results, discuss them with your doc & first start correcting that by either supplements or whatever your doc suggests!
- Next, for balancing hormones start including seeds, nuts & good fats in your everyday diet. E.g., include Flax, hemp, chia, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, almonds, Brazil nuts, pistachios, avocadoes, green leafy veggies, whole eggs & dark chocolate
- Start taking Shatavari powder, it helps to balance hormones
- You can also try a primrose oil supplement
- Cut dairy products for at least 3 months
- Your Hormones will really be a bit relaxed.
Healthy Lifestyle Changes
- Low down CORTISOL, popularly known as stress ha-ha.
- How? Practice meditation even for 10 mins, be active guys- run every day, it produces happy hormones.
- Engage more in leg workouts when you are feeling down, do a few squats & lunges every day. The happiest hormones are released!
- Products that will help with stress are- Chamomile tea, magnesium supplement, or lavender oil supplement
- Wear more cotton/linen clothes, ditch synthetic
- Start your day with green vegetable juice on an empty stomach
- DECREASE THE SUGAR INTAKE
- Switch to a paper towel for your face
- Change your bed sheets & pillow covers every week
- Don’t touch your face unnecessarily & don’t even think of popping the pimple
- Body massages are highly underrated when it comes to healing acne conditions. The improved blood circulation in the body really adds up in healing acne.
- Ice water Therapy is again very relaxing for those angry pimples. Fill a bowl with ice water & dunk in your face for a few seconds with a total timing of 10 mins. Do it 2-3 times a week.
- Lastly, goes without mentioning, sleep for 7-8 hours min & 3 liters of water every single day
Correct Products
- Retinoids, Salicylic acid & Benzoyl peroxide are going to be your friends in your acne journey.
- They come in different concentrations, brands, OTCs & Prescriptions.
- If you have mild pimples, OTC products will work for you, if you have moderate to severe acne condition, a prescription from your Dermatologist will be needed.
- Do not use any cosmetic product on your face with fragrance or alcohol in it.
- Use chemical peels for exfoliating or a warm washcloth of muslin material, ditch the physical scrubbing of the face pls
- Moisturize every day & night. Choose water-based products & a non-comedogenic moisturizer with ceramides, niacinamide, or hyaluronic acid in it.
- And don’t try to mix any of these products together for faster results! You will probably burn or peel your skin. Retinoid has 7 kinds, but only one i.e., adapalene can be paired with benzoyl peroxide.
- Use Retinoid & Benzoyl peroxide only at night. Your skin will become sensitive to UV rays with the acne products so always step outside with sunblock on & preferably a cap.
- All the products mentioned will take a few weeks to respond to & give results. So be patient & always do a patch test before applying.
- Use just a pea-sized amount or a few drops of these ingredients.
- Brand suggestions for over-the-counter treatments- La Roche Posay, Cereve, Cetaphil, Panoxyl- benzoyl peroxide, Murad, Paula’s Choice, Inky list, Avene, the ordinary, Elta MD, Differin adapalene gel, these companies have a good reputation, and they use no-nonsense ingredients.
- You’d have to see a board-certified Dermatologist if you got moderate-severe acne, his prescript medications like tazarotene, tretinoin, or acne spot treatment- Erythromycin, etc. will be very helpful to you.
- Store all these acne medications away from sunlight in a dark, dry place. Your bathroom cabinets are a good option.
- Concentration/Prescription strength of the products
Salicylic acid 0.5% – 2%
Retinoids- 7 kinds
- Retinol 0.1% – 1.0%
- Retinyl palmitate 1%
- Retinal 0.1%-1.0%
- Retinoic Acid/Retin-A/Tretinoin 0.01-0.1%
- Adapalene 0.1%
- Tazarotene 0.1%
- Isotretinoin – Oral Retinoid
Benzoyl Peroxide 5-10% in cleanser form is highly recommended from PanOxyl.
What if you get any irritation or burns from using all these acne treatment products?
Don’t panic & stick to these rules to heal the skin faster at home
- Take cold showers or apply ice wrapped in a thin cloth. Avoid hot water showers at any cost.
- Choose Alcohol-free & fragrance-free cleansers & moisturizers
- Use Thermal spring water to calm the skin (Try from La Roche Posay)
- Give a lot of moisture to the skin. Apply moisturizers loaded with Ceramides & Hyaluronic acid a minimum of 2 times daily. Morning & Night.
- Seal the skin with a thin layer of Vaseline. It locks in all the goodies & lets the skin heal faster.
- Stop using any other exfoliants, Retinoids, AHA’s, BHA’s, or peroxides, until you are completely healed.
- Glycerin & Aloe vera, both are great soothing & calming agents for the skin.
- Product suggestion- Try Avene- Cicalfate + restorative protective cream
- Apply sunblock before stepping outside.
If you have read the whole article & are keen on changing your lifestyle & products, I can already say your skin is on the right track! All the best guys
Love ~ Beauty Stroll
