The Ultimate Beauty Guide

You've probably heard upwards of 10 different ways to treat a blemish, which can be confusing until you realize that most of them aren't technically wrong—they're just different parts of the process in the life of a zit. How you handle a pimple should be different when you first feel one coming than when, say, it's taking up real estate on your face. All you need is a game plan, and the one dermatologist Whitney Bowe, M.D., has outlined is your best bet. Here's what to do at every stage!

You feel a breakout coming.

Uh oh. The throbbing, red, and sometimes painful telltale signs of a zit are starting to rear their ugly heads.

What's going on? "Cells lining the tiny hair follicles on the face, chest, and back stick together and don't shed properly, filling the pores just under the skin's surface," says Bowe. "That sticky plug expands as oil gets trapped along with the cells, making the plug even bigger and stretching the pore some more. Bacteria and free radicals lead to inflammation, and redness and pus follow. Voila: You have a blemish."

What should you do? "Dab a spot treatment with salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, or both directly on the affected area. And do not pick!"

The zit has arrived. 

It happened. The pimple is all you can see, and there are few beauty concerns more stresful.

What's going on? "Big red acne bumps are known as papules, pustules, nodules, and cysts. This is called inflammatory acne because these bumps are the result of inflammation. That's your body's way of handling a potential threat—blood vessels open wide and immune cells speed to the rescue. The redness is a result of dilated blood vessels that open up to help transport inflammatory cells to the pimple. The reason these breakouts get so big and swollen is because they are filled with immune cells that think they are fighting a foreign invader, even though there is no true infection present in acne. The white pus bump you sometimes see at the top of the pimple is a collection of immune cells and the fluid in which they travel through the blood." 

What should you do? "If it's painful, apply a warm compress, pat dry, and dab a spot treatment on it twice a day (morning and night). If you need to use concealer on top of the spot treatment, go for it. Just choose a spot treatment that dries clear so you can dab the concealer right over it and let the treatment work all day. You can also opt for makeup that contains acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid to wear over lesions. If it's really painful, try to visit your derm for a quick cortisone injection. That will flatten it out within a day! And you'll start to see it calm down within a few hours."

The spot is starting to go away, but definitely lingering. 

Haven't you been through enough?

What's going on? "Pimples can last for months! Non-inflammatory acne (whiteheads and blackheads) can last for a long time if left untreated. Inflammatory acne (papules, pustules, cysts, nodules) usually last between four days and two weeks. However, if you pick or pop it, it will last even longer and be more likely to leave a mark or scar." 

What should you do? "Reach for a treatment with exfoliating and brightening ingredients like glycolic acid, kojic acid, soy, or licorice. That will help the skin to turn over more quickly and brighten the dark spots. Once the old stain sloughs off, healthy, new cells will be revealed beneath."

Your face is in the clear. 

This is a nerve-wracking time because while you're relishing your newly smooth skin, you're also worrying that a new spot may pop up at any moment.

What should you do? "The best way to manage acne is to prevent it, so using a treatment all over acne-prone areas (face, chest, and back) every day, even when the skin appears to be under control, is ideal. Salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are two of the most effective over-the-counter acne-fighting ingredients to look for, and both treat all kinds of acne lesions (blackheads, whiteheads, papules, and pustules) and prevent them from occurring in the first place. So stick to a regimen every single day—cleanse, treat, moisturize—and make sure that you are including those two key ingredients."