Is It Possible to Get Rid of Pimples in 24 Hours?
Pimples pop up whether you're 13 or 35 -- and rarely do they go away overnight. No matter how hard you try to push the pimple party away, there will always be a few headstrong pustules that don't want to leave. While it takes more than 24 hours to get rid of a pimple, your face doesn't have to look like a war zone in the meantime. Get your face on a strict, acne-cleansing routine, bust out the benzoyl peroxide, and cover those spots up with a good concealer. In doing so, you can immensely speed up the zit-zapping process and hide those little zingers.
Use a headband to pull your hair back when treating pimples. (Image: LarsZahnerPhotography/iStock/Getty Images)Step 1
Step into a hot shower. The steam will help to open your pores, bring any pimples to a head and soften the skin.
Step 2
Pump a dime-sized amount of facial wash onto your fingers. Gently massage the wash around your entire face for 10 seconds. Leave on for a minute before rinsing the cleanser with warm water. Pat your face dry when you get out of the shower.
Step 3
Pour some toner onto a cotton pad. Swipe the pad around your entire face, being careful to completely cover the pimple or pimples you are trying to get rid of. Choose a toner with salicylic or glycolic acid, which can exfoliate your skin in addition to remove leftover traces of cleanser. Toner is also known to prep the skin so that the acne-fighting medicine you're going to use has a better chance of penetrating the skin and healing the pimple overnight.
Step 4
Hold your extraction tool over the sink and disinfect the larger-looped end by pouring rubbing alcohol over the tip.
Step 5
Place the tool directly on top of the whitehead so that the hole lines up with the middle of the pimple. Press down firmly and gently. The pimple should pop, leaving the sebum, dead skin cells and bacteria that was trapped inside now out on the surface of the skin. If gentle pressure doesn't work, do not force the pimple to pop; doing so can cause a scar, a hole or irritation.
Step 6
Apply more toner to a fresh pad. Wipe away the puss so that it doesn't infect other pores and lead to more pimples.
Step 7
Squeeze a tiny bit of acne-fighting product onto a cotton swab. While this can be 2.5-, 5- or 10-percent straight benzoyl peroxide, there are other products that feature a combination of benzoyl peroxide, sulfer, salicylic acid, calamine and tea tree oil that are beneficial in quickly getting rid of pimples. Cover the entire area that is infected with pimples, or simply spot-treat the one pimple you are after.
Step 8
Sleep on a clean pillow case. You don't want any dirt, debris or leftover makeup touching your face while you sleep.
Things You'll Need
Acne-fighting cleanser
Towel
Toner
Cotton pads
Rubbing alcohol
Facial extraction tool
Cotton swab
Benzoyl peroxide or acne-fighting topical treatment
Tip
If your pimple is inflamed after the extraction, wrap an ice cube in a towel and apply to the skin for one minute. This helps take down any swelling and also relieves pain.
Dab some oil-free concealer on top of your pimples in the morning after you wash and moisturize your face. The goal is to hide the redness from inflammation, not bring attention to what you're covering up. A woman should use a concealer one shade lighter than her foundation; while a man should select one that matches his skin tone.
Refrain from touching your face after you apply the spot treatment.
Warning
Peroxide has a bleaching agent in it. Be careful not to touch your clothing or towels without first washing your hands thoroughly. Also, make sure any topical medicine you applied is dry before using your pillow.
Acne-fighting products can be very drying to the skin. Follow up your skin-care routine in the coming days with an oil-free moisturizer that includes a built-in sunscreen.
