Every now and again, a pimple happens. To all of us. Seriously, when Benjamin Frankling said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” he should’ve included pimples. So over the years, humanity has come up with increasingly better home remedies for pimples to ease the inevitable.
After all, you can’t stop pimples from showing up every once in awhile, but you can kill them as soon as they dare rear their ugly head. Here are the most effective home remedies for pimples to help you fight the good fight!
Put toothpaste on pimples
Putting toothpaste on pimples is one of the most popular pimple remedies simply because it’s damn easy – everyone’s got some toothpaste lying around, right? – and it works.
You see, toothpaste has certain ingredients like baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, menthol, and essential oils that do a good job of drying pimples out.
The best part? You can actually feel it sucking your pimple dry as the toothpaste dries, which is pretty satisfying. Just make sure to use the white, pasty sort of toothpaste – not the gel kind, those don’t work as well and just sort of make your skin tingle without the cool drying effect.
Make an oatmeal mask for pimples
If you like the drying effect but toothpaste is a little too harsh for your skin, you’re going to want to ditch the bathroom and head straight to the kitchen for some oatmeal. If you’re in the market for a new bathroom trash can, check out this guide on styling bathroom trash cans. This yummy breakfast food isn’t just good for your heart – it’s also good for getting rid of pimples.
Oatmeal’s full of vitamins, minerals and lipids that are good for your overall skin health but it also contains anti-inflammatory properties that can help sooth and calm down a red, irritated pimple.
Plus, an oatmeal face mask is really easy to whip up – just make oatmeal – and it has a great drying effect on your zit without any harshness or irritation.
Of course, if you want more pimple drying ingredients and you have a fairly well-stocked skin care cabinet – you can also do the same with a good, pore clearing clay mask.
Dab tea tree oil on the pimple
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Here’s a potent natural pimple treatment you can do at home: dab a little Tea tree oil onto your pimple. Even a small amount of this antibacterial, antiviral, antifungals oil will penetrate into your pores to unblock, disinfect and dry out that annoying zit. It’ll take care of surrounding blackheads and whiteheads as well.
To use, saturate a Q-tip or use a cotton ball and apply the Tea tree oil directly onto the pimple.
Apply apple cider vinegar
The same Apple Cider Vinegar that you’ve been using for your salads and drinking to lose belly fat can also be used to get rid of pimples at home.
Why? Its antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral help disinfect pimples and it contains malic acid which further promotes disinfection as well as faster cell turnover so your pimple heals faster.
Just keep in mind that ACV is pretty powerful stuff – just like you wouldn’t drink it straight, don’t apply it to your skin without diluting it first.
Disinfect pimples with Manuka honey
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Manuka honey isn’t comparable to any old honey. This amazing stuff is a medicinal-grade, monofloral honey produced from the nectars of the manuka bush, a type of tea tree plant native only to New Zealand.
Its claim to pimple fighting fame? Manuka boasts the highest methylglyoxl content, making it the most potently antibacterial honey. Add to that honey’s hydroscopic function – the ability to attract and hold water away from wounds – and you’ve got one of the best natural pimple remedies!
Draw the pimple out with cinnamon
Cinnamon isn’t only yummy atop your coffee – it makes one of the best natural remedies for pimples. Not only is it anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, it also does an excellent job heating things up, naturally drawing blood and impurities to the surface of your skin.
So if you’ve got a pimple under your skin that you’d like to extract sooner than later – whip yourself up a cinnamon spot treatment. All you need is to combine 1 tablespoon of Manuka honey with half a teaspoon of real cinnamon.
Soak in green tea
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We’ve all heard about the many benefits of green tea – how it helps you concentrate without the jitteriness of coffee, how it can help you lose weight, etc. – but did you know it’s good for pimples and blemishes too?
That’s ’cause it’s chock full of EGCG, an antioxidant that’s been shown to be 25 to 100 times more potent than vitamins C and E in terms of antioxidant activity!
To be honest, though, the most effective way to use green tea for pimples is by drinking it. If you want to put it on your face, we recommend getting yourself some matcha powder. Matcha is simply a powderized form of green tea that’s much more potent and thus higher in EGCG. Plus, thanks to its being a powder, it’s a lot easier to mix with honey or water and apply on your pimples as a spot treatment mask.
Rub garlic on pimples
Yes, we know, it does smell. But that super potent scent it’s got is due to a sulfur-based compound known as allicin, which is what is going to help you get rid of that pesky pimple. Thanks to allicin, garlic has antiviral, antifungal antiseptic and antioxidant properties to help banish blemishes.
And there’s good reason why sulfur is so widely used in acne treatments – it works to get rid of and prevent blemishes that form when oil and skin cells get trapped in your pores as well as to activate shedding and exfoliation of pesky dead skin cells, dirt and oil lodged in your skin.
Not bad for such a stinky veggie, huh?
To use, simply cut a clove in half and hold the raw, newly exposed part to your pimple. Or you can grate garlic and mix it with oatmeal and honey to create an instant face mask.
No garlic? Try onions
Don’t have any fresh garlic lying around? Well, you’re bound to have an onion or two and these work just as well. Onions are also abundant in sulfur and can help reduce oiliness and dry out existing blemishes in an effective yet gentle manner.
It may sting a bit, though. But no pain, no gain.
Cover with diaper rash cream
It may be for a baby’s bottom but that doesn’t mean you can’t put it on your face – or wherever on your body that pesky pimple is lurking.
Fact of the matter is, diaper rash cream is one of the best home remedies for pimples simply because it contains zinc oxide, which is great for drying out pimples, as well as soothing ingredients like calendula, which help calm red and inflamed zits.
Dry out pimples with baking soda
Baking soda can be pretty abrasive so we don’t recommend making a full facial mask with this. Instead, mix a paste of baking soda and water together and spot treat the pimple. It’s a quick pimple remedy thanks to its mild antiseptic properties and its ability to dry up excess oil.
It’s also got very tiny granules that you can use to gently exfoliate the skin around your pimple.
When life gives you lemons…
Want to get rid of pimples and reduce the chance you’ll be left with post-pimple scars? Get your hands on some lemon (or lime) juice. These delicious citrus juices can fight inflammation and help de-gunk oily, clogged pores.
They’re also naturally effective for lightening and brightening your skin tone so there’s less chance of that pimple leaving behind a dark spot.
Exfoliate the pimple with papaya
There’s good reason why papaya enzymes are a popular ingredient in high end skin care products – papaya contains an enzyme called papain, which is a natural exfoliant that also reduces inflammation and helps prevent pus from forming.
It’s also gentle enough to use on your full face – not just the pimple – and it’ll help coax off dead skin cells and remove excess sebum from your pores. Overall, an awesome natural pimple treatment!
