The problem of a pimple

I am sure this has happened with many of you. You look in the mirror, and there it is! You are working and as usual rubbing a finger on your cheek and there it is! 

What am I talking about? A pimple of course! Pimples are the bane of most teenagers' lives. Remember one of those pimple cream/face wash ads? Where the girl tries to hide her face in all possible ways? That's what happens in teenage years.

But adults are not completely immune to these face defining buggers (why face defining? - well, once you have a pimple, there is not much else that anyone is going to notice, is there?). We get them, and they become the focus - of our face and sometimes even our life.

 Source: Dad and the Code

By God's grace, I did not suffer too badly in my teenage years. I did get pimples, but thankfully not a breakout on my entire face. But even a singe pimple can bring one to tears, and I was no better!

Now the breakouts are much lesser. Generally a couple of pimples, especially "un dino mein" (in those days - if you know what I mean!). But a zit is a zit. It makes you conscious of the ugly growth on your face. When I have a pimple, no matter how nicely I am dressed, I feel I do not look good. Which is certainly not a good feeling for a fashion blogger, right? And I am not very big in makeup - I do not use foundation, compact powder or concealer. So when I have a pimple, it really shows!


And its not like life becomes easier once a pimple is gone. It leaves behind a mark! Even if you follow all the protocols - like no touching, keeping face clean, applying pimple cream - if the pimple is a big one, you are bound to be left with marks. So once the pimple is gone, you will be kept busy looking for ways to get rid of the marks.

Given all these hassles, this is the approach that I have taken which helps a lot in avoiding pimples and post pimple problems:

• Use a good face wash and face cream that suits my skin type. I am currently using natural aloe vera gel on my face because it soaks up the extra oil from my combination skin and also aloe vera gel has many benefits for skin
• After washing my face, I run my fingers over my face to check whether I can feel the start of a pimple - a slight redness or pain in a particular area could mean the start of a pimple
• If I detect redness or pain, I immediately apply an antifungal cream - Cloben G. This cream has helped to prevent a full blown pimple many times (This cream goes with me wherever I go)
• I use Omved Ubtan once a week to exfoliate my skin and remove dead skin cells
• I also use a mud mask every alternate week to soothe and cool my skin

All of the above have helped to keep my skin relatively pimple free. I have kept my routine simple so that it is easy to follow and does not require too much time. Given my work hours (10-12 hours a day), I cannot follow a very complicated routine. But this simple routine has been more or less effective. :-)

This post is a part of an IndiBlogger activity in association with Garnier Pure Active Neem Face Wash.

So have you been lucky when it comes to pimples? Whats the routine you follow? And have you used Garnier Pure Active Neem Face Wash?