IF YOU GUYS DIDN’T KNOW- I have some serious acne.
I have talked about my acne struggles on the blog in the past (here, here, & here… if you wanna know more/learn about some of my other acne tips!) but I am ALWAYS on the hunt for new tricks to clear up my acne.
I have tried almost everything & while I’ve got my routine down (should I do a post?!), the acne I have is HORMONAL acne which is the hardest acne to deal with. I call it my acne beard, because it’s on my jawline & down my neck. The pimples never come to the surface, so they just are really hard to get rid of.
Every once in a while, usually two weeks before aunt Flow comes into town I get a HUGE ASS CYSTIC ZIT. It’s painful as fuck, itchy like a bug bite, & just incredibly large under the skin. I have one right now, it showed up two days ago, & it was a real monster of a zit.
You can’t squeeze it cause a. it’s not that kinda zit & b. it hurts too bad to touch. You can’t cover it up either, cause it’s just so damn gigantic. SO- when I hear people are using the liquid gel from an ADVIL for pimple spot treatment & it’s some sorta miracle, I had to try it.
I LOVEEEE A GOOD HACK, so when this bad boy popped up on my face, I hit up my local CVS & grabbed a bottle of Advil. I’ll try anything once & people were seriously RAVING about this trick online saying it worked overnight. I needed some overnight help in a bad way (the toothpaste hack doesn’t cut it when it comes to cystic acne!). I got home, shot some photos of my *kinda cute* Advil liquid gels minis (cause I knew I wanted to share my thoughts on the blog), & gave it a try.
BUT- before I tell you the results/my thoughts, let’s break down the WHY on this skin care hack works.
How Does Advil Get Rid Of Pimples?
So the general idea with using Advil liquid gel for spot treatment is that, because it is an ibuprofen, it reduces swelling, redness, & has some stellar anti-inflammatory benefits.
Acne, whether hormonal/stress based/or caused by bacteria, causes an inflammatory response in the skin. This is what makes the zit red, irritated, itchy, painful, & filled with pus (SICK, but also- I love popping a zit). Ibuprofen’s main job is to stop those nasty inflammatory responses in your skin & reduce the swelling that makes zits so freaking noticeable & helps w/ the pain relief of a nasty cystic zit.
NOW- how to do it… cause there is definitely a method to this madness.
How Use Advil Liquid Gels For Pimple Spot Treatment
1. WASH YOUR FACE
Not just any old face wash though, you gotta wash your face like me. TRUST ME. I used to be the kinda girl who would be too tired to get down & dirty with cleaning my face. Just a quick cleanser & off to bed. NOW- I am a psycho about getting every single speck of dirty/make-up off my face.
I wash my face using the Eminence Clear Skin Probiotic cleanser or the Eminence Stone Crop gel serum, & after I am done I cover my face in either the Botnia toner or the BYBI Mega Mist Hyalruonic Acid toner & then use a cotton ball (or these organic cotton wipes, which I LOVE) to wipe it all off. I do this as many times as needed until my cotton wipe is fully clean.
Lastly I apply the Eminence 8 Greens Youth serum & the Eminence 8 Greens Whip moisturizer. This leaves my face SQUEAKY clean, nourished, & glowy… fully ready for some acne treatment.
*side note: once a week I use some sort of acid treatment- either the Drunk Elephant BabyFacial if I need something strong or the Drunk Elephant Glycolic serum.
2. EXTRACT YOUR ADVIL GEL
All you need is one Advil gel capsule, rubbing alcohol, & a safety pin. Grab your safety pin, clean it with the rubbing alcohol, & poke a hole in your gel capsule.
You can either apply it to your zit directly from the capsule or put a little on your finger and dab it on your various pimples. I probably put about 50% of the capsule on my huge zit & then the other 50% I did a thin layer along my jawline cause WHY NOT. Don’t be wasteful!
Once it’s on, it’s on. You don’t have to worry about it till the AM.
3. IN THE MORNING
When I wake up I always wash my face & then tone, same goes for when I have on my gel liquid spot treatment. You have to wash & tone every morning!! I also apply the Drunk Elephant vitamin C serum to brighten up my complexion.
Next, when my face is fully clean, I give myself a QUICK ice facial. Kate Moss swears by an ice facial, & so do I. It is so refreshing, increases circulation, reduces swelling, tightens up your skin, sculpt your features (hello cheekbones!), & makes you GLOW. Plus, if you do an ice facial after serum it helps the serum absorb & get locked into your skin better.
All you do is grab a few ice cubes, wrap them in a paper towel, & rub across your face in massage like movements. You can also fill a bowl with water or milk (good for skin), add ice cubes, & dunk your face! This is seriously the most refreshing thing EVER.
SO- now you know EXACTLY what I did… but the burning question: DID IT WORK?!
Advil Pimple Remedy Results
Alright, like I said, I did this entire routine last night & woke up this morning to see the results/finish up this post.
When I first woke up, I did notice my ginormous pimple has reduced about 75% in size!!! SO YES- it definitely worked. Now, halfway through the day, I’d say we’re at a 50% reduction. It has swollen a bit throughout the day again, but I am confident one more session of Advil liquid gel spot treatment will do the trick completely.
Even though it didn’t fully diminish like some people said, it had reduced enough in size that makeup was able to cover it up fully which is a HUGE WIN in my book. The pain & itchiness is also completely gone!!!! I kid you not when I say this zit was a painful one, like throbbing pain, so I am pretty thrilled today that it doesn’t hurt & itch at the same time.
All in all, I am saying this hack is LEGIT & if you’ve got some monster zits like yours truly, TRY IT. You won’t be disappointed!!
ALSO- there is also the aspirin face mask (crushed up aspirin mixed w/ aloe & a little tea tree oil) which is also said to be amazing for acne because aspirin has salicylic acid in it & that really dries things up. Because my acne isn’t all over my face, spot treatment works better for me. But if I get a huge flare up, I will be trying the aspirin mask for sure (& yes, I will blog about!).
OKAY- DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY HACKS I NEED TO KNOW/BLOG ABOUT? Please let me know, I am the queen of hacks & need to know them all (especially if it involves getting rid of acne!).
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