Results 1 to 25 of 25

Thread: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

  1. #1
    God/dess scarlett_vancouver's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    6,699
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 22 Times in 20 Posts

    Default Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    So I haven't had a gross cystic pimple in probably over a year, but as a special 'goodbye to 2006!' present, one decided to show up on my cheek today. How lame.

    I'd like it to go away quickly. I'm resisting the urge to pick at it. I did a search, and quite a few threads talk about applying heat in order ot kill the underlying bacteria. I know day spas can do it, and the Zeno zapper thingie does it, but it's Dec 31st and a Sunday, so I'm stuck with DIY.

    Does anyone know the correct way to apply heat to a pimple to kill the bad stuff?

    Feature costumes for sale!

  2. #2
    Veteran Member
    Joined
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    247
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    dont try to pop or pick at it.cystic pimples are the worse healers and take forever to go away.If you pick you'll end up with a scar.If it is really big and bothering you, you can go to the dermatologist and they'll inject it with something that will make it go away really fast.

  3. #3
    Yekhefah
    Guest

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    ^^^ I don't know any dermatologists that would be open this late on a Sunday, especially it being New Year's Eve. Scarlett, I would think you could just take a washcloth and soak it in the hottest water you can stand, and apply it. That works to bring regular pimples up to a head.

  4. #4
    Veteran Member ChloeTheRed's Avatar
    Joined
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Twitties
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    ^^ What Yek said.

    Sometimes I'll put some of that Neosporin+Pain Relief on top of the zit if it's the deep achey kind. It helps me forget about it a little more, and I tell myself that it'll help kill the bacteria (though probably not).

  5. #5
    God/dess Nautilus's Avatar
    Joined
    Nov 2005
    Location
    a safe place for dancers, just ask me
    Posts
    2,132
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    cystic pimples... aaarrgh. oh how i hate thee.

    aside from the heat, i hold a q-tip soaked in 100% tea tree oil on the very centre of it for as long as i can stand. the oil transports the antibac all the way in...

    good luck.

  6. #6
    God/dess fancygirl's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,776
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    does the mayonnaise trick work on cystic zits, yek?
    tried it on deep painful zits, but I'm not sure what a cystic one is and if I've tried mayo on a cystic one before.

  7. #7
    Yekhefah
    Guest

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    I don't know if I've ever had a cystic zit before either. I don't know whether the mayo would work on it... probably not, if it's a cyst. Anyway the mayo doesn't get rid of the zit, it just brings it up to a big head so you can pop it more easily.

  8. #8
    God/dess sassysummer's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Vancouver, WA/Portland, OR
    Posts
    2,165
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    i just read something about using a heated up light bulb and holding it just barely on the "head' of the cyst...I'm very curious to try it..but i'm scared! lol i have this one cyst on my chin...i just want to pick it/squeeze it, but i've been resisting! maybe i'll try tonight since i'm not doing anything for new years





    Now selling Platinum Stages Poles!
    Order through me & get a FREE instructional video!



    "Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from." Jodie Foster

  9. #9
    God/dess Nautilus's Avatar
    Joined
    Nov 2005
    Location
    a safe place for dancers, just ask me
    Posts
    2,132
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    for those who haven't had the joy of a cystic pimple, it is like the biggest, deepest, blind zit you've ever had.

    if you had it on your chin, say, and you poked your tongue into it from behind, you can see the pus deep below the top skin (i.e. not squeezable). the 'reservoir of pus' as i affectionately call it, can be about 5 or 6mm wide sometimes (i don't know what the smallest unit american measurement is, sorry).

    either way, they're deep, huge and fucking nasty. you know when you have one... oh and they hurt wickedly if you put pressure on them.

    re: lightbulb
    sounds bloody dangerous to me.... perhaps a quick recipe for a burn and another scar?

  10. #10
    God/dess fancygirl's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,776
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    ^oh, I think I've had one of those.
    If you can barely see the pus then maybe the mayo would help?

    I think when I had mine it was a needle, heat, and repeated pressure, not something I'd recommend but I'm a popper.

  11. #11
    Glamazon
    Guest

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    Quote Originally Posted by fancygirl View Post
    ^ not something I'd recommend but I'm a popper.
    Okay, this made me giggle out loud!! Because we're really not supposed to be messing with anything on our skin, but there are those of us who just can't help it--myself included!

  12. #12
    God/dess fancygirl's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,776
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    ^ yup...that is why there are 15x magnification mirrors for the poppers and tweeze-hounds.

  13. #13
    God/dess Nautilus's Avatar
    Joined
    Nov 2005
    Location
    a safe place for dancers, just ask me
    Posts
    2,132
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    the punishment for messing with a cyst = big ol' crater scar.

    not hot.

  14. #14
    God/dess fancygirl's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,776
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    isn't there a way to empty out some of the pus though without a big scar? I mean...if you pick at anything a ton, you're going to get a scar. but if you pop it once or twice you still get a scar?

  15. #15
    God/dess Emily's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    11,302
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked 143 Times in 72 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    but these are the unpoppable ones...

    I like retin-a because it dries it out and layers of skin come off. I figure if I can't get it from the inside, I can go from the outside.

  16. #16
    God/dess fancygirl's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,776
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    unpoppable even with a sterile needle?

  17. #17
    Veteran Member ChloeTheRed's Avatar
    Joined
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Twitties
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    Fancy, the problem with cystic zits is that there's so much pus that when you pop it all of the sudden while it's still big and deep, the skin usually can't cope with the hole that's all of the sudden in the middle of it, so it doesn't fill in as it heals, hence the crater.

    It's a little like if you've got fudge with marshmallows in it and you somehow deflated the marshmallows -- big ol' pits everywhere. Cystic zits are nasty nasty and you should never pop them -- just help them come to a head and heal on their own.

  18. #18
    God/dess fancygirl's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,776
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    huh. okay. gotcha.

  19. #19
    Featured Member
    Joined
    Jul 2004
    Posts
    947
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    I like to use fresh, striaght lemon juice or aspirin paste (ASPIRIN IS FATAL TO CATS! BE CAREFUL!) on my cystic acne. I apply lemon juice 3x a day to my cystic acne, and I find that they tend to go away @ 50% faster.

    The best way to deal with it by not picking at it, using hot compresses several times a day and for me- the lemon juice/aspirin paste trick. You only need to leave on the solution for @ 5-30 minutes (depending on the sensitivity of your skin).

  20. #20
    smartcookie
    Guest

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    Castor oil packs bring them to the surface faster. You cover the zit with castor oil and then saran wrap and blast with a heating pad at the highest setting for 30 minutes. Do it twice a day and that sucker should form a head.

    The size of the big mothers is usually due to swelling so it's helpful to take natural anti-inflammatories too.

    But sometimes the only way to get rid of them is to have a kenalog injection done by a dermatologist. I used to just go up to SkinKlinic on 61st and 5th and have it done for $100. But they closed

  21. #21
    God/dess Nautilus's Avatar
    Joined
    Nov 2005
    Location
    a safe place for dancers, just ask me
    Posts
    2,132
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    what's the healing time after one of those injections? and;

    do you go to get it whacked the minute you feel the sore spot, or do you wait for it to hit all its swollen glory first?

  22. #22
    Veteran Member circe221's Avatar
    Joined
    Jun 2005
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    282
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked 15 Times in 11 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    I second the aspirin mask suggestion.
    Take about 10 uncoated aspirin, mix with a few drops of water until you get a thick paste. Apply to the zit and allow to dry. It will be flaky, try not to breathe it in, because it will make you SNEEZE!!! After it has dried, use water to turn it back into a paste and scrub lightly. Do it about 2-3 times a day and your zit will be gone in no time!
    "The winds of Heaven are those which blow between a horse's ears."
    ~Arabian Proverb


  23. #23
    Curious Guest miss_b's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Speedway, Indiana
    Posts
    4
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    I'm new to the site so I was excited to find somthing to reply to!!

    First off...I would try using clearasil cream..It really will help with the swelling! Another thing you can try is salt-baths. if you've ever had a peircing then you'll know how to do this..If not then its pretty simple. Get a pinch of salt, and put it in about a quarter of a cup of warm water. (as hot as you can stand.) The salt will draw out alot of the inpurities as well as drying out the site of the pimple. If the skin gets too dry then drop from 3 salt-baths a day to 2, or 1 if needed. It wont help it come to a head any faster, but it will help it dry out faster in general.

    Hope this helps!

  24. #24
    smartcookie
    Guest

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    Quote Originally Posted by Nautilus View Post
    what's the healing time after one of those injections? and;

    do you go to get it whacked the minute you feel the sore spot, or do you wait for it to hit all its swollen glory first?
    It's a very thin gauge needle, so there's no healing time. It's a little swollen for an hour or two, and then the swelling goes down. When you wake up the next day, most of the zit is gone.

    I don't know what the dermatologist's preference is; I've had it done at both stages. I think that the closer it is to the surface, the easier it is for the injector to hit the target, so to speak.

    Sometimes it doesn't work. In that case, do not, I repeat, do not get a second full strength kenalog injection within the same month to the same spot. If you do, there will be fat atrophy. In other words, a hole the size of a pencil eraser in your face. Ask your dermatologist to dilute the kenalog with saline instead.

  25. #25
    Senior Member lux_44's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    84
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: Correct way to apply heat to a zit

    If you want to apply heat use the cup of hot salt water. It works well.

    Now, im a picker myself. I just cant leave well enough alone.

    I have used a lot of the suggestions here.
    -Heat and needles
    -ibuprofen/salt paste
    -Over the counter crap

    I learned that cysitc zits actually have a "core". A lot of the time the reason you cant pop a cysitc zit, is because the core is too big to get thru your skin.

Similar Threads

  1. Non-zit blemish
    By TigersMilk in forum Body Business
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 05-23-2007, 08:09 AM
  2. A zit is on the way--help!
    By colleen in forum Body Business
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 12-19-2006, 06:49 PM
  3. Huge zit
    By Chicagoeditor in forum Body Business
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 07-02-2006, 11:08 AM
  4. zit on the lip?
    By mollyzmoon in forum Body Business
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 04-20-2006, 07:23 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •