This past weekend, I had the biggest zit I have had in any recent memory. I'm not talkin' a pimple (which I am super prone to and battle with on a daily basis). I'm talkin' the cystic kind that are hard and deep in the skin. It was enormous. Gigantic. Mountain-like. In fact, I would not have been surprised, should another head have started growing from it and started talking to me.
It was right near my nose, right where my sunglasses rest, which was no surprise. I've been out sweating in the garden with sunscreen and dirt coating my face under my sunscreen coated sunglasses. Gross.
I will spare you a picture of said zit, trusting that the description is enough.
We all break out at some point or another and summertime often causes those that are prone to acne to flare up. Sweat mixed with makeup or sunscreen mixed with bacteria from hands, sunglasses or a cell phone is a recipe for acne.
Here are a few tips to prevent a summertime breakout from happening in the first place.
- Wash your face twice daily, most importantly in the evening, with a natural cleanser containing glycolic acid. A great one to try is derma e Vitamin A Glycolic Cleanser. It will help remove the sweat and dirt accumulated on your skin and gently exfoliate to keep pores clean.
- Add a natural facial scrub to your skin care routine two times a week to further assist in exfoliating debris (sweat, dirt, products, dead skin cells) from the surface of your skin.
- Swipe skin with a cotton pad soaked in cool witch hazel during the day when you feel like your skin is funky.
- Keep cell phones and sunglasses clean so bacteria is not being transferred from them to your face. Use a 1oz spray bottle filled with vodka and a few drops of tea tree oil to wipe down these items (don't spray your phone directly, however, as it could break your phone - spray a tissue then use that).
- Go makeup free as often as possible (especially when at the beach or working out) or use mineral makeup for light, breathable coverage (and some sun protection).
- Try to use as few products on your face as possible. Do not skip sunscreen if you will be outside for a long period of time, but look for a safer moisturizer with sunscreen added in a lightweight formula, such as DeVita Solar Protective Moisturizer, which offers full-spectrum UVA/UVB SPF 30+ protection from zinc oxide, for folks with sensitive or breakout prone skin.
- Drink plenty of water to keep skin in proper moisture balance and to keep toxins flushing regularly out of your system.
Should a zit (or more) arise, follow this plan for helping it to make a hasty exit:
- Keep the area clean, using the same glycolic-based cleanser.
- For those big mothers, apply an ice cube for 5 minutes to lessen the inflammation. Follow this with an application of warm chamomile tea on a cotton ball for 15 minutes. Chamomile is anti-inflammatory and will help to soothe the breakout. You can repeat this a few times daily until the inflammation has subsided.
- In between time, apply one drop (no more than one drop) of tea tree essential oil directly to the zit or zits. Tea tree is antibacterial and will help to dry up the breakout. You can also use one drop of lavender essential oil instead, which will help to soothe the area.
Its about 72 hours since the first appearance of the massive fellow and, today, you can barely tell it was there after following this protocol. Until next time, monster zit...
