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Seven Weird Ways To Zap A Zit!

29 April, 2018 - 08:35pm by - Head Pixie | 20 Comments

By BR Kellie

Pimples. Zits. Acne. Whiteheads. Blackheads. My nemesis for nearly three whole decades. The bane of my life. Those that will not leave me alone no matter how well I treat my body and my skin. How many ways do I hate thee? There's not enough numbers in the universe to count the ways. 

In my eternal quest to banish the blighters I've come across some weird and perhaps not so wonderful suggestions. Some work. Some don't. Some are 'oh yeah nah' in their grossness. Some I wish I'd tried, and now plan to! So what wacky ways are there to show our skin some zit-zapping love? Check these out!

'Pop on a bit of potato!'

This is one I wish I'd tried, and may still, because I can kind of see how it works. Potatoes contain vitamins, minerals and have antioxidant properties, and due to this they're touted as being great for the skin in their raw form. There are a few methods you can try to battle the break outs - peel a potato, thinly slice it, then rub it on affected areas. You can also finely grate potato and then apply it all over your face like a mask for twenty minutes before removing and rinsing your skin. Using potatoes on the skin is also purported to brighten the skin and help with pigmentation issues. And here we thought they were only good for eating!

'Get out in the sun. It'll dry them out.'

Yeah, nah. It'll also create premature wrinkles and carry the risk of skin cancer. 

'Try a little toothpaste.'

I'm 99.999999999% sure that I first heard of this back in the day (as in the 1990s) when Simon Barnett said on the wireless that that was how he dealt with zits. If Si did it, then I was going to give it a go! And give it a go I did, religiously dabbing toothpaste on my zits each night in the hope of waking up to clear skin the next day. Did I see a difference? No. Not so much. Toothpaste's sometimes contain ingredients that will dry out a pimple, which is why it's said to work, but conversely it can also irritate the skin. I never saw irritation, but I never saw improvement, although I've read enough reddits to know some people have. I put this in the 'give it a go if you must' category, but frankly, I think the potato sounds like a better idea!

'Dab a little pee on it.'

Pass. Hard pass. Nope. Sure, urine may be antibacterial, but then so is tea tree oil, and one of them did not go through my system and end up in my bladder. 

'Salt water will help.'

'Go for a swim in the sea'. I heard this a lot as a teenager, and one summer I decided to give it a concerted go. The theory behind swimming in the sea? The sea has all sorts of minerals wafting about in it that are skin-friendly like magnesium and potassium. It's said to help ease eczema, work to deter acne-causing bacteria, and encourage the healing of wounds. I definitely noticed less zitage that summer, but it was my hair that came out looking best! Gotta love natural sea-spray to make your curls look fab not frizzy!

'Breastmilk. Dab it on, baby!'

I had breast milk on tap for over a year. I gave it a go. I saw no difference. Turns out breast was not best... for my zits.

'Maybe my man juice can be of assistance.'

Okay, so no one has ever said this to me. No man would dare. If they did they'd be laughed at for so long and so hard they'd walk away with a complex. BUT... I have read on the interwebs that some people do suggest that the juice of the trouser snake will help with a break out. I'd sooner put my own pee on my face.

Soooooooo, have you tried any of these weird and/or wonderful zip zappers? Did they work? Did they not? Have you tried other and seen signs of success? Get chatting!

Comments

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4th May, 2018

No I haven't tried any of them but I heard from my friend who is a pharmacist that anything with Salicylic acid helps. It works, but it did dry my skin a bit.

4th May, 2018

I laughed a little too loud and almost woke my kids :'D These are great!! I'm not trying them but great :p

3rd May, 2018

Hahaha I had a good laugh at some of these "out there" myths but the only one I have ever tried was the toothpaste dabbing,did absolutely nothing except dry my skin out but I swear by witch hazel and tea tree oil.

1st May, 2018

Haha, I’ve tried a few but ah not anything involving bodily fluids.

1st May, 2018

Have tried the tooth paste might try the spud one although itl smell funky

1st May, 2018

With the exception of the potato and breastmilk and the last one (for zit treatment, heard of it being good for skin in general, wow guys do try hard). I've tried the toothpaste and sun. Saltwater just stung my face. The fourth one is a hard no.

30th April, 2018

Oh some of these shouldn't even be experimented with! Interesting with the sea water - I do notice a difference retrospectively. My hair and skin were both great after a summer spent in the waters

30th April, 2018

Yes I did toothpaste and yes it worked . I think my partner would roll on the floor laughing at manjuice. But I’m sure he’d happily assist lol

30th April, 2018

That made me laugh. Tee Tree Oil, Blemish Sticks and putting a plaster over the infected area for a couple of days are the only things I've found that work. And the last one isn't ideal for your face, but can effective overnight sometimes.

30th April, 2018

in my teens and 20's I remember trying toothpaste - don't think it did a thing.....

30th April, 2018

Haha oh wow I had to have a laugh at the juice of the trouser snake. Might try the potato trick and leave the rest.

30th April, 2018

I totally agree with the salt water, as long as you keep your skin moisturised too of course! The combo of that, the sun and no makeup over summer was such a treat for my skin!

30th April, 2018

Always an entertaining read. I have not tried any of those not for lack of hearing about them. I've always just used a pimple cream and tha worked. I do believe potatoes are for eating, and the sea is a good healer for skin and sores and wounds.

30th April, 2018

Tea tree oil is really good as is antiseptic and drying. I have heard of seawater too and toothpaste. Potato sounds worth a try though.

30th April, 2018

Toothpaste works for me if you get it early. It's a worry (and a laugh) some people on the interwebs had time for pee and man juice.

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