CW Beauty Talk: How to get rid of pimples

Hi there couchwasabi!

I’m 16 year old and I have many pimples. I have oily skin and my pimples are really bad. I recently read about cortisone injection to instantly shrink pimples. Can you help me about it? Have you had this and which clinic is the best to have it done? TIA!

– Jelene

Hello Jelene,

At your age, your skin condition and pimples might be spiked by puberty–but that’s normal. What’s important is for you to know which products you’d need to help minimize the oil, keep your face clean, and get rid of pimples.

I suggest for you to use gentle cleansers specially formulated for oily skin and wash your face 2-3x a day, depending on your daily activities. Washing too much is also bad for the skin as it strips off the natural oils needed by your skin.

Keeping oil blotting papers or oil control sheets in your purse is a great way to get rid of excess oil during mid-day. Instead of layering on powder, I use oil control sheets to make sure my face don’t look cakey and oil-free. My favorite is Clean & Clear’s Pink Grapefruit Oil Blotting Paper.

Keeping your face clean is the key to keep pimples at bay. But keep in mind that pimples may also be hormonal. So I suggest for you to contact a trusted dermatologist on how to treat your skin. You may get in touch with my derma Dra. Julie +639189023962.

As regards to cortisone shots. I highly do not recommend it as there are risks. Simple put, intralesional corticosteroid injections – often simply known as steroid or cortisone shots – are used to treat deep papules, nodules or cysts that go down into the deep layers of the skin. It effectively reduces the size of your pimples but it may also cause a sunken appearance or “dent” on where the pimple used to be.

I’m sure you don’t find much horror stories on cortisone injections online but, believe me, I have 2 friends who have had these shots that caused dents on their nose and face. Although the dermatologists would say the dent will eventually go away, sometimes that’s not the case.

Oh, and please NEVER POP YOUR PIMPLES. Squeezing them may cause trauma to the skin which may cause scarring.

Whenever I’d have breakouts, I make sure I was my face clean to get rid of excess oil and use topical hydrocortisone cream at night before I go to sleep. I think this is a safer way to speed up shrinking of your pimples. You can get your own tube of 1% hydrocortisone cream at any drugstore.

Of course, it also helps when you stay away from oily and fatty food. I like loading up on veggies and citrus fruits when I’m having breakouts. Eating glow food helps cleanse your body–do you remember go, grow, and glow food from elementary?

To look after our skin and to help clear our acne if we have it, the key is to cut back and keep it simple. So be gentle with your skin, wash it only twice a day and do not scrub and scour at it. You’ll definitely notice the difference.

I would love to hear more of your beauty concerns. You can shoot me a mail at couchwasabi[at]ovi[dot]com. <3

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