Inside the pore of the face are sebaceous glands which produce sebum. When the outer layers of skin shed, the dead skin cells left behind may become 'glued' together by the sebum. This causes a blockage in the pore, especially when the skin becomes thicker at puberty. The sebaceous glands produce more sebum which builds up behind the blockage, and this sebum harbours various bacteria including the species Propionibacterium acnes. This inflammation is called zit or pimple or acne.

Care before treating a Zit

Before treating a zit, identify the type of blemish. A surface-level eruption will be more receptive to topical treatment than a deeper cyst, which will appear as faint red blemish and be sensitive and even painful to the touch. With care, you can use the steps below to get rid of a superficial zit within 1-2 days; these treatments are also practical when dealing with cysts, which may also need more extreme treatments such as cortizone injections.

Don't overwash or overscrub a zit. Overzealous cleansing will only strip your skin of the natural oils it needs to be healthy. This leaves your pores unprotected and susceptible to getting a zit, and will also irritate a zit that's already there. To get rid of a zit, wash it (don't scrub) with a gentle cleanser no more than twice a day and moisturize your skin afterwards.

Steps for popping out the Zit

Wash you hand thoroughly with soap or a mild cleanser.

Sterilize the needle. There are a number of different ways you can sterilize the needle including heating over an open flame. This will ensure that any bacterial residing on the needle is killed.

Gently pierce the zit and apply pressure to the surrounding skin to squeeze the zit and extract any liquid from it.

Once the zit is complete popped and the extracted waste cleaned up, use a good amount of gauze to apply small amounts of hydrogen peroxide to clean the surface where the pimple used to reside.

Think of this exercise as a minor operation you just performed on yourself.

Care for Zit

People with oily skin should choose a gel based product, those with dry skin should choose a cream.

If you are like most people and have combination skin, choose the product that best works with the afflicted area.

The more sensitive your skin, the lower concentration of active ingredient you will need.

Some mild creams can be used as a preventative measure, but most acne creams are too harsh to be used before you see or feel a zit.

If the acne is excessively painful, or if it becomes painful after trying an OTC product, try taking an anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen and get to a doctor ASAP.

If your skin has large pustules that appear in clusters, if they are painful, if your acne causes scars, or if you can't seem to get rid of a blemish (it starts to go away only to reappear just when you thought it was gone), your acne may require treatment by a doctor.