The party is tonight, but this morning I can’t even think about the fun parts yet. I am feeling the pressure of too much to do in too little time. I have to go to the gym before work, shop for a dress at lunch, rush home to change and try to look beautiful by 7. Maybe I’ll blow off the gym. I look in the mirror and damn, wouldn’t you know it, I have a huge zit, right next to those little smile lines around my mouth. What the heck is going on?
If this scenario sounds familiar, you are in good company. One in five women over 40 suffer from adult acne. You may have had clear skin all through your teens, yet have adult onset acne as you’re beginning perimenopause. There are several causes of adult acne including stress, hormones, (including birth control pills) and poor cosmetic choices. Changes in your skin are a reflection of what is happening inside your body, as well as what you apply to the surface. Esthetics is a field of skin care that can offer treatments and products to combat both aging and adult onset acne.
An esthetician has many tools in her bag of tricks that can give you the clear, smooth skin you desire. Facials, glycolic peels and microdermabrasion can help treat blackheads, pimples, hyperpigmetnation, sun damage, fine lines and wrinkles. If you need a quick fix for that big, ugly zit, an esthetician can cleanse and extract the blemish safely, then treat it with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid to kill bacteria and help it heal more quickly. we even have a high frequency machine that can “zap” that zit so it will heal quickly without scarring.
A visit to your esthetician can be a less expensive and effective way to clear the skin, but she will tell you if you need to see a Dermatologist. (Many estheticians work under the care of a physician and can even recommend and sell products such as Dermesse or Obagi, that use prescription Retin A or Hydroquinone). Products sold at a skin care center or Dermatologist/ Plastic Surgeon office are either prescription or cosmeceutical strength. That means that you will get a higher percentage of the active ingredients in the product than something you can buy over the counter at a drug or department store. Even Proactive- the popular acne products sold everywhere only have 2.5 % Benzoyl peroxide compared to Dermesse or DDf which have up to 5%. Salicylic Acid is even more effective in more severe acne. Your esthetician can help you get the most effective treatment without causing more problems from over drying the skin.
So what should you do when you wake up with a zit and want to get rid of it fast? If you have an estehetician you work with, she can soften and exfoliate, then extract it if it’s ready (in other words, if it’s come to a head with gross, white pus, she can clean it out, without causing any scarring). Then she can “Zap” it with the aforementioned High Frequency. It will usually be gone in a day or two.
If you can’t get to an esthetician, here are a few tips:
Don’t pick it!! At least not right away. First, use a warm compress on it for about 10 minutes. Make sure you hands are clean, and then test it by putting both forefingers side by side (not fingertip to fingertip) and gently pressing upward from the bottom of the blemish. If it’s still red and hard, leave it alone!! Apply a little Benzoyl Peroxide and a tiny bit of a clay mask overnight ( my favorites are DDF Benzoyl Peroxide Gel 5% and DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask™ a dynamic duo for banishing blemishes quickly!!) The next morning it will either be ready to extract or it will be gone!
If there is a little bit of white pus, then you have my permission to extract it! But do it the proper way: Wrap your fingers in clean tissues, place your forefingers next to one another and squeeze form the bottom upward to express the white head. T hen take a cotton ball with toner and hold it on there to stop any bleeding. Use a clay mask on it for 10 or 15 minutes.
Now if you aren’t completely grossed out, you have the secret to getting rid of a pimple without damaging or scarring the skin. Many Estheticians will be completely appalled that I would even SUGGEST extracting your own pimple. But let’s face it, if it’s there you are going to mess with it aren’t you? At least this way, you won’t have a big, red disgusting mess to deal with and can use a little concealer to cover what’s left of your zit and go the party already!!! Hope you have a blast!!
Contributed by Candace Clayton
Denise Willinger's Blog 