One of the most annoying things about my acne is that it picks the absolute worst times to flare up. Either it flares right before a work or personal event that involves taking pictures, or on days that I’m feeling extremely self-critical. It almost seems like it lies waiting for the right time to suddenly swell to 5x its size overnight and ruin my day.
To combat these pesky spots, I’ve found a few over-the-counter (OTC) acne spot treatments that I absolutely love and do an amazing job of drying out and shrinking acne spots overnight. Literally overnight!
The primary ingredients in most OTC acne spot treatments are usually either benzoyl peroxide, some form of sulfur, salicylic acid, or azelaic acid. These ingredients all have some form of antibacterial/drying property that helps to eliminate pimples. If you’re looking for a more natural alternative, tea tree oil also has antibacterial/anti-inflammatory properties and works really well as an effective spot treatment.
When it comes to application, I never apply these treatments to a whole area of skin. Typically, I target very specific spots and dab them on. This is to avoid drying out large areas that don’t need the treatment and limiting it to those that do.
Note that if you have very sensitive skin, some spot creams may be quite intense (since they’re literally made to annihilate acne spots), so I recommend trying a couple and spot/patch testing to see what your skin tolerates best.
Mario Badescu Drying Cream
The Mario Badescu Drying Cream was the first acne spot treatment I ever tried. Imagine my shock when I put it on, went to bed, and woke up to a very flat spot where there previously was a giant mound. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t discovered it before then. This stuff is so good! I know that Mario Badescu also markets a drying lotion but I haven’t tried it to make a fair comparison.
Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment
Aside from the effectiveness of Neutrogena’s on-the-spot treatment, I love that it can easily be found at grocery stores and drugstores. This means you can walk into most Walmarts or CVS and pick this up. No need to order online or find an Ulta beauty store. The active ingredient in this treatment is 2.5% benzoyl peroxide which my skin surprisingly ‘listens to’. I say this because my skin is quite stubborn and often needs higher concentrations to make a visible difference.
Zapzyt Acne Treatment Gel
The active ingredient in Zapzyt’s acne treatment gel is 10% benzoyl peroxide. Although this seems like a large concentration of benzoyl peroxide compared to a few other spot creams on the market, you can go to bed knowing that whatever pimple you put this on doesn’t stand a chance. That pimple will be dried out and out of sight. I love this stuff and it’s actually my longest-running spot treatment.
If you need a good spot treatment, I encourage you to try out one of these. They’re fairly cheap and if you can’t find one of them on my list, you can probably find another locally. Don’t spend time applying lemon juice or toothpaste or even trying to pop that pimple. Just get one of these and watch the magic happen.
Do you have any spot cream recommendations that you swear by? If you do, let me know in the comments below!