Is Ice an Effective Treatment for Pimples?

Introduction

Another natural treatment for acne breakouts that’s been popularized by many people is ice. You know you simply can’t squeeze or pop your pimples for fear that the infection may be forced underground from where it can stage another comeback. That said, it would be a better option to try using ice and see what it can do in treating your acne. Will it succeed in fully clearing up your breakout? Let’s see.

Ice works on inflammatory acne

One of the more common reasons people cite for using natural skin care remedies is that they do not cause side effects which drug medications can sometimes cause.

It’s well-known that salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are easily accessible on the market but some people tend to overuse them causing an exacerbation of their acne breakouts. But let’s get back to ice.

Ice does a really good job on acne for the simple reason that it reduces swelling especially in the inflammatory types of acne.

These inflammatory acne types include:

• Papules
• Pustules
• Cysts
• Nodules

It’s quite possible that ice won’t be effective on non-inflammatory acne types which fall under the category of blackheads.

When ice begins its work on your acne, it will attack the inflammation caused by your breakout and in doing so will actually reduce the size of your pimple. 

In so far as theory goes, if a treatment can gradually reduce the size of something, in this case a pimple, the ongoing reduction in pimple size implies that as time passes, the ice will eventually make your entire pimple disappear. 

Ice also has the ability of reducing the redness of inflammatory acne , which makes your pimples less visible to another person so it can render the appearance of you pimples less embarrassing.

Ice can also lessen the pain that usually accompany the onslaught of acne breakouts especially for cystic

and nodular acne. The reason is because of the temporary numbness that ice causes.

However, despite these curative attributes, no research is available to indicate that the use of ice alone is an impactful remedy for pimples.

The use of ice may also be considered as part of a smart skin care procedure that includes:

• Noncomedogenic makeup
• a moisturizer specifically suited to your skin
• regular cleansings.

How to use ice for treating your acne

The task of applying ice to the area affected by an acne breakout sounds simple enough, but you need to  remember that several processes are involved in this process as outlined below:

• make sure you have thoroughly cleansed your skin in the same way you would clean it before applying any other type of treatment, non-chemical or chemical
• prior to applying the ice to your skin wrap a thin piece of cloth or thick paper towel around it.

To avoid spilling water everywhere from melted ice, use a cool compress.

• you should apply the ice to your pimples after your morning and evening face cleansing task.
• make sure you have a 5 minutes respite between each minute of applying the ice to prevent damage to your skin.

Sometimes, it’s good practice when treating pimples naturally, to also treat it together with warm treatments such as compresses or towels that have been steamed. 

The warm steam will remove dirt and debris trapped in your pores, ahead of the actual ice treatment. 

After using the warm towel for about 5 to 10 minutes you can start applying the ice at the usual intervals of 1 minute and 5 minutes respite from applying ice.

This timed progress will reduce the inflammation and swelling of your pimple. You should repeat this process daily until your pimple is cleared.

Beware to avoid following up the ice treatment with hot compresses because this practice can do damage to your skin.

What to know before using ice

When you use ice for treating your pimples over a period of time, debris is bound to rise to your skin surface through your pores and appear as pimples.

Naturally you’ll be tempted to squeeze and pop them but take heed never to do this. Picking pimples will certainly cause them to spread ever further afield.

Worst still, the squeezing and popping that you do will definitely lead to scarring which you wouldn’t want to happen to your face.

One very important aspect of using ice for treating pimples is you’ll be applying it to your bare skin. Don’t forget that ice can cause your skin to suffer from frostbite.

To avoid damaging you skin from frostbite, it’s critical that you apply the ice for short intervals. It’s more common for frostbite to occur when you’re out in extremely cold weather for a long time.

However, frostbite conditions can also exist when you use ice, cold packs or other frozen articles on the sensitive skin of your face for long periods.

If you happen to suffer from the following symptoms of using ice, you should call your doctor:

• changes in the color of your skin
• a feeling of numbness that lingers over a long period of time
• occurrence of blisters on your skin
• appearance of extensive blemishes on your skin

The right time to see a dermatologist

While ice has been regarded as an effective treatment for acne that doesn’t cause side effects than other conventional acne treatment, there’s no proof to confirm that It’s more effective.

In addition, natural remedies for acne may take longer to heal you acne, and patience is needed while your acne slowly dissipates and is no longer visible.

Don’t ever scratch the pimpled area as this can exacerbate the redness of your pimple and the inflammation that has set in.

While you wait for your pimple to silently disappear, you can concoct a suitable mineral makeup and apply it to the infected area as needed to get rid of your embarrassing self-awareness.

Even with your tenacity it may come to pass that even treatment with ice may fail to produce the desired results after a few weeks.

When that happens, it may be time to approach a dermatologist for help in draining the pimple without causing side effects. 

You should tell your doctor for your preference for natural remedies and they will recommend appropriate natural remedies for you to use. 

They may also recommend certain products and lifestyle habits you can use and practice in order to prevent the reoccurrence of breakouts.

Bottom line

It’s never easy to grapple with the onset of acne breakouts and as a matter of fact most of us would rather avoid having to cope with finding treatments for an acne attack and prefer not getting pimples at all. Life is not always that simple and sometimes you may need to look further than natural remedies for you pimples and explore what is available in the realm of drug medication. But at least you now know where you stand. If you are searching for acne treatment options, you should give this place a go because we have had positive experiences placing purchases here.