The ultimate DIY pimple guide: 5 surprising home remedies to fix acne

Pimples are a fact of life. You can’t always avoid them, but you can change how you treat them. Use these doctor-approved home remedies.

Pimples are a fact of life. You can’t always avoid them, but you can change how you treat them.

A tiny tweak to your usual skincare routine could mean a big difference to your complexion.

Read: Want pimple-free face? Eight things you need to know

To help you keep your skin looking flawless as often as possible, we asked experts to share tips on fighting acne like a professional.

So stop sabotaging your skin. It’s time to clear things up.

1 You know how they can instantly take the red out of eyes? Well, it has the potential to do the same for skin. “They act like a vasoconstrictor, which means it closes down small blood vessels,” explains Delhi-based skin specialist Dr V Karol. It might not have magic ~healing~ powers, but it can lessen the red appearance of a pimple, at least for a few hours. Add a drop directly on the spot, or soak the tip of a cotton swab then dab it right on top.

2 If it can take down a headache, it can take down a pimple thanks to its anti-inflammatory powers. But only use this on the big red kinds, and just put it on before bed for a night or two as needed. “Crush up a tablet and add a tiny drop of water to make a paste out it and dab it on the area and let it sit for as long as you can or overnight,” says Dr Amitabh Kumar, skin specialist at Delhi’s Max Hospital.

3 “Ice is a potent anti-inflammatory, especially in the face of acute inflammation like with a pimple,” says Dr Karol. “Icing has two benefits - first, it reduces redness by causing the dilated blood vessels to constrict. It can actually take it down in terms of size and flatten it out, too.” (Just be prepared that the ice will be cold and make your skin red for a bit.)

4 Coat with calamine lotion: The pink goopy stuff you put on bug bites is super soothing. To transform it into a pimple fighter, before shaking the bottle, pour out the liquid that that pools at top so that you’re only getting the pure calamine paste, then use a cotton swab to apply a thick layer just to your pimple(s). “It can help dry it out more rapidly without over drying the surrounding skin,” says Dr Karol, who suggests applying this with caution (a tiny dot is all you need!) and just once a day is enough to get the beauty benefits.

5 Apply a hot compress: Red, tender, underground pimples that you just know are filled with puss can be hard to reach with topical treatments since they can only seep so far down into skin. Instead, apply a warm-hot compress (simply soak a washcloth in warm water) to stimulate your body’s clean up crew cells to come and clear up the spot and bring the gook to the surface, suggests Dr Kumar.

Follow our tips, and this could be you:

The writer tweets as @SanyaHoon