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Treatment
Reviews
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Treating
Acne Pustules
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For those with
average acne, pustules are the most common affliction. These
are your stereotypical acne blemishes: small, inflamed bumps
with a white or yellow deposit of pus in the center. They're
unsightly, but unlike cysts, pustules are generally
painless. They typically form when your sebaceous glands
secrete too much skin oil (sebum) too fast into the cramped
space of your pores. That excess oil becomes compressed,
hardening into a clump, and inflammation results as your
body tries to combat the stoppage and buildup of P. acnes
bacteria (which feeds off the sebum).
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What's worth
trying
If you're
looking to eliminate stubborn pustules, there are several
options. First off, yes, you can pop the pimple, but be
careful! While not the most serious form of acne,
pustules can still leave scars, especially if you try to pop
them too soon. The proper technique is to wait until a
pustule is right near the surface of your skin, prick it
with a sterilized needle, and then gently pinch the area to
push the pustule out. If a pustule proves to be resistant,
then just leave it alone! Trying to force out a
pustule that is not ready to pop is a sure way to get
yourself an acne scar.
Another
(generally safer) way to get rid of pustules is to use a
spot treatment. The most popular products for this are
based on benzoyl peroxide, although alternatives like tea
tree oil can also do the trick, provided that the pustule is
near enough to the surface for the treatment to penetrate.
After washing the area, apply the spot treatment directly
onto the blemish. This usually has to be done at least twice
per day for fastest results (and may still take several
days).
Exfoliation
can also play a role. An exfoliating chemical or scrub will
not typically treat the blemish itself, but these treatments
can help speed healing by drawing an acne pustule more
rapidly to the surface.
Acne treatment
devices based on heat, lasers or radiation can also
be effective, although usually no more so than a good spot
treatment. They mostly work similarly, by drying out the
surrounding skin and killing the underlying bacteria to
decrease redness and swelling, although some can also
stimulate circulation.
Supplements
may be the most effective solution. All the above
techniques target existing pustules, but do little to
prevent new blemishes from forming. A smart supplement can
both reduce inflammation and speed the healing of current
blemishes, while also acting to prevent the buildup of
excess skin oil that is to blame for pustules forming in the
first place.
Lastly, you can
do nothing. If you wait long enough, your body will
eventually break down the pus deposits in most pustules.
This might not sound ideal, but it's better than getting
stuck with a scar.
What's
not
worth trying
For pustules,
you're going to need more than just a cleanser or medicated
pads/wipes. Treatments that only cleanse the surface of your
skin are going to have little effect. Even spot treatments
won't be much help unless they can really penetrate deeply,
which usually means applying them frequently and in liberal
doses. Pustules are not caused by bad hygiene, so all
the cleansing in the world isn't going to save you.
Moreover, since
the leading cause of acne pustules is excess skin oil and
not surface dirt or bacteria, treatments focused primarily
on killing bacteria or ridding the body of toxins
(as with antioxidants) are simply not going to give you
satisfactory results. You need a deep pore cleanser or
(preferably) an oral treatment that will regulate your oil
glands.
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