Pimple Problems - *pout*

I feel as though at 25 I should not have to suffer through pimples anymore. But alas - they are still a struggle for me.

The ones that bother me most are the most painful, swollen, under the skin, building up pressure as days go on, hurt even when I move my face.

Historically I squeeze them in an attempt to relieve the painful pressure - and I KNOW this is the worst thing you can possibly do - but usually that doesn't stop me when they get to this painful "size of a baseball under my skin" point. Plus I know it makes them look nasty and stick around longer.  So this time around I want to try and avoid doing this - but I need some good advice on what else I can do to help zap this sucker and get rid of this pain!

Options I don't have: dermotologist (small towns don't have these... or doctors...) - so its gotta be a home/store bought solution!

Help!

Thanks in advance!

As someone who's dealt with cystic acne, I (literally) feel your pain.  DON"T SQUEEZE THEM.  You WILL scar, or get broken capillaries, or otherwise mark up your skin. 

Ok. Lecture over.  This is what I do:  As soon as I feel one coming in, I take an anti inflammatory, like a motrin or similar (you can skip this if you want to).  Next, I take a cream containing 1% hydrocortisone and put it on the pimple a couple times a day, and again before bed.  I like Aveeno Maximum Strength Anti Itch Cream.  It will take down the swelling and the pain.  This is the best thing I've ever used.  I hope it works for you too.

EDIT: I forgot to tell you, you don't have to glop the cream on, just a bit rubbed gently into the pimple will do the job.

I have been dealing with acne since I was 13. I'm 38 now so I feel your pain. I have been using Proactiv for over a year now and it has helped me out a lot. The redness and inflamation are gone. It takes a while to work though, but things don't happen overnight especially if you have been dealing with it for as long as I have. Visit www.proactiv.com.

Good luck!

going on the pill helps.  i also use mild cleaners, don't overwash my face (only twice a day).  at night i use a light moisturizer («marcelle» brand 24h care).  and that's really helped.  a lot of break outs are because the skin's moisture balance is out fo wack.  so moisturizing, which might be the last thing you want to do, can be good.  i tried proactiv and it didn't work for me, but the pill, good skin care, and a healthy diet and exercise have done it for me.  so i guess for me it was hormonal.  there are different causes though, so try out different things

I feel your pain! I'm 28 and I look like I'm going through puberty!

My problem is oil...my skin has a film of oil ALL THE TIME and it's gross! I blot it all day, but doesn't help.

I tried proactiv and it cleared up my skin in a MONTH I was sooooo excited. But 2 months later, my skin was back to the way it always is.......I've tried tons of the creams and washes, but nothing helps....

My advice - Get in your vehicle and drive to a larger town that has a dermatologist. My twin sister suffers from horrible adult acne, especially the deep-under-the-skin kind and let it basically hinder her life and scar her skin for many years. I finally told her GO TO THE DERMATOLOGIST! There is no reason to suffer when modern medicine can help with these types of things. Your face is the first thing people see and it's the first impression. It's amazing how much her acne has improved and pretty much vanished since she visited. They gave her topical and oral antibiotics, a cream that reduces the amount of oil your skin produces and a special type of benzol peroxide wash that isn't available over the counter. No over-the-counter products ever helped.

Hot washcloth... if I feel a mountain coming on, I get a washcloth hot and put it on the spot for 30 seconds... repeat several times... I usually do this in the morning and at night (maybe more) till it's gone...

when i first notice a pimple coming up i get a washcloth and run it under hot water then press it on my face a few times...definitely makes a huge difference

Original Post by sharpshootinstar:

Next, I take a cream containing 1% hydrocortisone and put it on the pimple a couple times a day, and again before bed.  I like Aveeno Maximum Strength Anti Itch Cream.  It will take down the swelling and the pain.  This is the best thing I've ever used.  I hope it works for you too. 

Thanks! I've never even heard of using hydrocortisone before - I'm willing to give it a try!

I'll have to try the hot cloth - I've heard of that before but impatience has always gotten the better of me.

I'm already on the pill. Not sure that my pimples are bad/constant enough to drive 2 hours to see a dermo... but maybe... when I move back to a big city I'll look into that more.

i have to agree with the dermatologist thing though: if you really hate your skin, it's the only way.  i'm going to one in a coulpe weeks.  the last time i went they gave me some medication which really helped, but once my prescription was done i didn't get it renewed, thinking i would be fine, and the acne came back.  for me it was just a topical ointment, but it works wonders.  i was also on a rpescription pill for it when i was younger, but it's not that bad anymore for me

I am 37 and have been dealing with the exact same thing from 16.  For the last year I have had a perfectly clear face, with only occasional breakout around that time of the month.  All the face srubbs and perscription meds never worked, not even proactive.  A new friend told me about oil cleansing, her granny swore by it, and it worked!!!!

Here is the routine.  Every night before I go to bed I take a mixture I made of olive oil and caster oil (1 to 1).  I keep it in a condiment squeeze bottle.  Put some in your palm, about the size of a quarter, rub your hans together and then apply to your face, get eye makeup off great.  Run a wash cloth under hot water, wring out and lay over your face till it cools.  Reapeat the hot wash cloth 2 to 3 times, gently wipe remaining oil off, dry and your done.  No need for mositurizers that is what the olive oil is for.

Within a few days my face was all but clear.  I followed this routine for a few months, but now I only use the oil cleanse once a week, or if I feel something nasty happening. Not only is my skin clear, but I no longer have red patches and flaky skin.  I can now just use a little powder and blush, no more foundation.

Give it a try.

joylynn1972 - that sounds like a "too good to be true" magic trick! I've also never heard of that solution before - but I'm definitely willing to give it a try. I've been on the verge of buying proactiv but haven't been really convinced it was much different than any other cleansers out there.
Thanks for the tip!

Game plan:

Step 1: try the aveeno (if I can find it in Canada) and hot washcloths to help with my current swollen monster. TRY NOT TO SQUEEZE - SO TEMPTING!

Step 2: go buy some castor oil and give the castor/olive oil combo a chance to make my skin perfect!

I had my doubts too.  First I thought wouldn't oil make it worse??  I fiqured I had nothing to lose so I gave it a shot.  I have learned from her over the years that the old people had some really good remidies for common stuff, and they didn't cost a lot of money.  I also use a plan oil of olay cleanser with      exfoliant (sp?) every morning in the shower.  Here is a good site for more info on the oil cleanse method.

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

i had bad acne when i was a teen

ive been using proactive for about 5 years now and its awesome. whenever i get one of those zits that are hard and under the skin i ice it.

the ice takes down the redness and swelling

then at night i use the proactive mask. i dot it on the zit before i go to bed. i had a bad one of those two weeks ago, and the ice/proactive mask treatment got rid of it in a week- i only prodded at it once. (im bad with popping zits)

I always said when i was younger "if i have a zit on my face the day i get married i will FLIP" and now im 24, get the occasional breakout. im sure ill have a zit or two on my face when that day comes (hopefully in the next couple years)

oh well. such is life.

i know it sounds odd but look up 'aspirin mask' on google etc, its the only thing that takes the redness out of my bad skin. it also leaves the skin very smooth, but be careful not to scrub too much

good luck!

I tried Proactiv recently and I had very negative results. My skin suddenly (literally over night) got so dry, my upper cheeks, around my eyes (dunno how it got there) and my nose. I woke up and it was all burning and my skin was raw. I stopped using it immediately, I also broke out some more, but I expected this to happen on the proactiv anyway. I've been using Garnier Nutritioniste(sp) Detoxifying gel. I just randomly picked it up, I was looking for face wash that had no acne stuff in it cause my entire face was so dry, with parts that looked like I got attacked by a very hot frying pan. It said it has Vitamin E + Grape Extract, Vitamin B5, and greenleaf extract... was meant to soothe skin and whatnot. So I started using that with a nonpore-clogging moisterizer I had been using before I tried proactiv (Clean and Clear Day Moisterizer SPF15)... and most of the acne went away, I couldn't use the moisterizer where the skin was raw, I just washed gently and used moisterizer everywhere else. My skin is mostly healed now, I still have some peeling around the corner of my eyes (makes me look like I just woke up (the little crusties of doom) and haven't washed my face >_<) but the rawness is gone and all the acne on my chin and sides of my jaw line all went away.

I don't know if the face wash will help with your problem, but it seemed to help with mine. I was using Neutrogena's face wash, the grapefruit one, but I still got pimples and that's when I went to proactiv... waste of $20 for me. I think I had a weird allergic reaction to it or something. So I'm sticking to my nonacne face wash and moisterizer and see if that keeps them away. I get those painful under the skin pimples on my chin often, but the last one I had went away recently, so... so far so good. :s

Good luck!  I had pimples all through my preteens and teen years... and I still fight them now at 23 (24 next week). Both my brothers have smooth skin. I think I'm getting the acne for them too. :P

My routine that I have found works is this:

Before bed - 1) Wash face with Clearasil daily acne cleanser (salicylic acid)  2) Clean 'n Clear Astringent applied over entire face using a cotton ball 3) Clearasil vanishing cream directly onto "problem areas"

Upon waking - Clean 'n Clear oil-free moisturizer

The thing I found that has really cleared up my skin is acidophilus.

http://www.acneteam.com/does-acidophilus-help -acne.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Acidophilus-Acne:-the-Way-to-a-Clear-Skin& id=474684

you can find it in any health food store or online. I swear by it now. Of course I wash my face with an acne cleanser. i use clean and clear but pretty much anything with the salicylic acid and I also use an astringent like Nadiarose said. But you have to attack it from the inside out and that is what the Acidophilus does. Good Luck!!

I am dealing with this very problem as we speak.  I didnt have acne this bad when I was a teenager!!  I  was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 4 months ago & since then, I have been on Synthroid.  Since being put on the meds, my face has exploded with the HUGE, painful, under the skin pimples.  I had one about a month ago that was as big as a ping pong ball on my forehead!  As soon as one begins to clear up, another one pops up and it hot on its trail. What really sucks is that I cant use Bensoyl Peroxide.  Apparently I'm allergic to it because anytime I use it, my eyes swell shut.  I'm too old for this crap!

I had problems for years -I'm 37 - until I tried a different foundation - apparently there was some ingredient in the foundation I was using that made me break out......and I wear makeup everyday working in an office....I tried an all natural, organic makeup brand and unbelievably, my face cleared up in less than a week!  So, if you wear foundation on a regular basis, something simple to try.

Here's our thread on the Oil Cleansing Method.

http://caloriecount.about.com/pesky-blackhead s-slather-oil-face-ft93482