It’s like Kajagoogoo (oh children of the 70s/80s) but pusier. Why does the word pusier never translate to text very well? Pus. i. er. as in yellow stuff, not… oh, nevermind. Look, I’m talking zits. Spots, pustules, pimples, blind boils, are you eating? Sorry.
I’m talking about the ones that grow their own head (arms, torso and a pair of legs) overnight. You can often feel them brewing in advance… and of course, knowing that the last thing you should do in. the. world. is touch it, you spend all day picking at it, poking around it and generally coaxing it to come out and sing too shy, shy, hush, hush, eye to eye.
So what are your options? Don’t say toothpaste or I will mock you.
Well, you could cover it with a big granny-tights coloured plaster and just pretend it’s not there. This is fine if it’s somewhere discreet, like on the soles of your feet but not so good if you can a). see it or b). reach it. Basically, it’s a rubbish option because you know that within five minutes, you’ll have that plaster off and will be digging around with it again until you get the skin-picking guilts.
How about some topical treatments? Some people swear by Sudocrem but the only tub I have in the house has actually been used for it’s intended purpose and I just don’t fancy it.
Then you’ve got your topical treatments. In all manner of guises…
The ones that I’m dabbling in at the minute are The Sanctuary’s Blemish Serum* which helps to calm the redness and general rage that accompanies the facial intrusion. BareMinerals Blemish Remedy* which comes in a powder form and contains sulphur to draw the bugger out more quickly and finally, La Roche Posay’s Effaclar A.I which keeps making me think of that film with Jude Law in it which works both as an anti-bacterial and exfoliator to promote faster healing. It feels hugely comforting to have a dedicated blemish-buster to tote around in your handbag.
And finally, you’ve got the ever-faithful aspirin mask. I actually put quite a lot of stock in the value of this remedy, especially as a way to get the blighter to look a little less inflamed before an evening out.
But I wanna know, what do you do when you feel a particularly unholy zit brewing?
* press samples
