Tag Archives: spot treatment

The Sad Cycle of Skin Picking

At some point in your life you’ve heard or been told first hand “Don’t pop pimples” or “Don’t pick at that!” but did you really listen? The act of skin picking is not unknown, however, the truly disastrous effects which it creates are. While skin picking can range from occasionally popping a pimple to an actual disorder (Excoriation disorder) its effects are always negative. Skin picking can be brought on by stress, anxiety, boredom, disorders such as BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder) or just out of habit. Regardless of the cause of it, it is counterproductive and damages the skin.

I decided to write this article because I personally have dealt with compulsive skin picking for years and I have finally put an end to the vicious cycle that it is. For me, skin picking meant spending hours of unintended time in front of a mirror scrutinizing what was on my face and attempting to pick it away. By this I mean extracting every possible blemish that met my eyes, even if it was extremely unnecessary. I referred to skin picking as “counterproductive” because while the goal is to ‘perfect’ imperfections, you only exacerbate the problem. This is because a pimple is basically a little ‘sack’ under the skin that contains oil, bacteria and inflammation. Squeezing or touching it can result in the ‘sack’ rupturing and these contents being spilled out and pushed into surrounding skin, ultimately multiplying the problem. *Apart from the cosmetic impact of recurrent skin lesions and scarring, skin picking can lead to serious infections, anxiety, shame, and depression (Lisa Zakhary MD,PhD). These results are what makes it so vicious; you start by trying to eliminate an issue and find yourself creating so many more- on your face no less!

Once I realized I was the cause of my clearly worsening skin state, I developed some skills that would help to manage the urge to pick, pop, or squeeze. I began to make it harder for myself to be in an environment that allowed me to act on my impulses, meaning staying away from mirrors as much as possible. Standing in front of a mirror with the intention of quickly washing my hands or brushing my hair turned into a face examination analysis every time, without fail. This inevitably would lead to a session of skin picking that would last from minutes to hours and leave me feeling worse than I initially did. By forcing myself to look away from the mirror and focus on/think of anything else I created a different environment for myself, one where my skin picking urges could not thrive off of my trigger(s).

Aside from mental fortitude, some physical skills to use as an alternative to picking include handling your blemishes in the proper and safe way such as using ice. You can use an ice cube or a sanitized ice pack (I personally use a Soothie Q) and ice the blemish for about a minute or so. This helps to alleviate inflammation and sometimes can even stop a pimple in its tracks. After this, I apply a spot treatment such as Face Reality’s Sulfur Spot Treatment followed by an application of PRIIA’s Calm Down Anti- Blemish powder.

End the skin picking cycle and treat your skin like the fragile, beautiful, organ that it is.

*REF: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/author/lzakhary

How to Knock Out a Zit

Ah the joys of being almost 46 and STILL being acne-prone. Yes, I’m nearly middle-aged and I can still manage to get a zit. Most of the time this happens when I don’t pay attention to what I’m eating (i.e. acne-triggering foods) and/or or when I’m testing out competitors’ products. I can truly be my own worst enemy at times.

Lately I’ve been craving peanut butter. Specifically peanut butter spread on a banana. I have no idea why (no, I am NOT pregnant). I really try to stay away from peanut products because peanuts are high in androgenic hormones which can cause acne flareups. The proof is in the pictures in this article. As a result of my peanut butter and banana debacle, a big ‘ol zit reared its ugly head right on my chin. I played and therefore, I paid.

This zit hurt- it was raised, very inflamed but there was no ‘head’ on it so I wasn’t able to try and extract anything.  For the record, I do NOT advise anyone to try and ‘pop’ their own zits. I’m a licensed esthetician and a certified acne specialist of over 12 years. I know exactly what to do and how to extract pimples properly so as not to cause scarring or further infection. I also know when NOT to try and extract a zit.  In this case, I had to use a great spot treatment ASAP otherwise this zit was going to get big enough to have its own zip code. Yikes!

How I Knocked Out This Zit

First, I removed my makeup and washed my face with PRIIA’s acne-safe makeup remover. I LOVE this stuff. My skin is left feeling clean and soft- not tight and stripped. After I cleansed, I used PRIIA’s Hydrating Skin Spritz as my toner. Both our makeup remover and Hydrating Skin Spritz are pH balanced. Yay! Then I applied ice to the zit for about a minute. (keep that ice cube moving so as not to cause any ‘ice burns’ on the skin).

Next, I sprayed one pump of Hydrating Skin Spritz into the palm of my hand. I then sprinkled some of PRIIA’s Calm Down Anti-Blemish Powder into my palm and I made a thin paste. I applied this paste to my zit and went to bed. I only slept about 5.5 hours (my cats woke me up waaaay too early) this night but you can see in the picture how the inflammation was significantly reduced. The zit was no longer raised. It no longer hurt. It had basically just turned into a small flat light red spot. I did the same treatment the following night before bed and by the next morning it had faded away almost completely.  I’m thrilled with the results. A bonus was that the skin surrounding the zit did NOT get dry, flaky or irritated from the Calm Down Powder paste. Winning!!!!

I highly suggest giving this blemish spot treatment a try!

*Medical Disclaimer: The contents on this site are for informational purposes only, and should never be a used as a substitute for seeking the advice of a medical professional.  No content or products on this site is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition.  PRIIA® Cosmetics assumes no liability for any claims arising out of the misuse, allergic reactions, or any injury suffered with the consenting use of the products offered/suggested on this site.