Pimples start with blocked pores.

Basically, the pores in your skin get clogged with oil and dirt. These may appear as blackheads if exposed to oxygen, whiteheads if that pore’s sealed up.

Bacteria breeds happily in the gunk within that pore, leading to inflammation and that red bump we see as pimples. That’s acne. It can be treated at the doctor.

Or you could get products off the shelf to treat it.

Basically, you unclog the pores by exfoliating the skin. AHAs are great for exfoliation as these dissolve the “glue” that makes the dead skin stick to the skin’s surface. Salicylic acid is effective in treating acne because of that.

Then you kill the bacteria with tea tree oil or triclosan. Or you could make the pore inhospitable towards acne-causing bacteria by forcing oxygen into it via the application of benzoyl peroxide. Acne bacteria hates oxygen.

Washing my face thrice daily with a face wash that contained triclosan kept my skin free from acne when I was young. That was a tip I got from a doctor. Back then, I used phisohex, which can be too harsh to use long term. It is rather drying. And I know of a guy who used phisohex to wash his feet to get rid of foot odour. That kind of grossed me out using that same stuff on my face. Then again, we use water to wash toilets too.

Anyway, for my recent acne outbreak, I tried tea tree oil. My hubby swears by it for his boils.

At first, I tried applying a drop of tea tree oil to my zits. But for that to be effective, you have to apply it every few hours. It works for some people, but a few people get skin irritations when they use tea tree oil, so to each their own.

I tried T3 pimple gel. It has tea tree oil in it. Didn’t work too well for me as mine was pretty severe.

Pimples. These have plagued me since my teens. They call it qing chun dou, in chinese. Literally translated, does it mean youthful beans? Oh well. Guess that means I’ve got youthful skin. Got to see the positive side of things.

Anyway, I went to a doctor for help. He prescribed retin A in the form of T3 actin tretinoid cream 0.1%.

That worked for me. My skin cleared completely.
Though it caused my skin to peel.

Retin A is not to be used lightly. It causes birth defects in unborn babies so there is a chance you could get pregnant, stay away from Retin A. Also, it makes skin more sensitive to the sun. Use it only at night. When using Retin A, use a sunblock at all times as your skin will burn very easily.