My injection free emergency zit kit. 🚨

I’m usually zit free these days, but I ate a few too many @haribousa Twin 🐍 the past few nights, so not surprisingly I woke up with one of these. 🤷‍♂️

The most effective and quickest way to get rid of a big ol’ pimple (typically much bigger than this — think cyst/nodule) is injection of a tiny dose of a steroid solution like triamcinolone by a trusted professional.

When I’m not doing that, the go-to kit I keep on hand for home use is:

1. Clobetasol 0.05% ointment. The🫅of topical steroids. This stuff works for so many things, but with great power comes great responsibility. A little dab will do ya, and only do so under the supervision of a derm you trust. This puts the 🔥 out, but it must be used responsibly because it can also do a lot of damage. Rx only.

2. Topical retinoid. The choice is yours, but don’t sleep on this low hanging fruit for treating AND preventing acne as well as fighting dark spots, fine lines, and wrinkles. There’s so much bang for your buck here, especially if used consistently over many years.

Pictured here are both generic tretinoin 0.1% cream (cost effective, gets the job done, Rx only) and Skin Restore Serum from a brand I’m a huge fan of called Neogenesis. The latter is a more expensive option but can also be more tolerable and possibly even more effective, and I love it. It has some botanicals for a more integrative approach as well as lactic acid to help the retinoid penetrate the skin.

3. Naked & Thriving’s CLEAR blemish and pore correcting gel. This gel combines #mandelicacid, salicylic acid, shikmic acid, and aloe vera.

Remember, prevention is the best medicine. Chill out with the Twin 🐍, do some deep breathing, get some exercise, and keep using that retinoid.

Of course, always discuss specifics with your board certified dermatologist or other trusted professional.

This is admittedly an aggressive regimen that I reserve for spot treatment. You can do yourself a lot more harm than good if you use it inappropriately, especially given the combination of multiple acids with a retinoid and a super potent topical steroid, but I wanted to give a behind the scenes look at what I’ve found works best for myself as a derm.

I know dermatologists can be hard to get a hold of. Hit me with questions in the comments. 👇

#acne #acnerecommendations #aboveandbeyondderm #spottreatment #acnefighter #acnetreatment #acnetips #blemishes #retinoid