If you struggle with these types of pimples you know they can be extremely irritating.

They are called blind pimples because you cannot see the head of the pimple. The inflammation site of the pimple is deep in the skin.

Pimples with no head can be irritating.

Sadly you can’t pop them like normal pimples. This is how to shrink a pimple with no head:

How to shrink a pimple with no head

Don’t try to squeeze or pop it: Trust me this is a bad idea and it will only result in pain and dissatisfaction. The pimple is too deep in the skin to pop anyway.

If anything trying to pop it will cause more inflammation and make it more sensitive. If you find a way to pop it you might get more scarring and redness.

Do apply a warm compress: These are beneficial because the heat from the warm compress will help reduce inflammation on the pimples, calming it down. The heat is also helpful in easing the pain associated with the pimples.

Acne stickers are your friend: These little white or clear patches are actually really good at absorbing bacteria, sebum and dirt.

In addition, the acne patches contain salicylic acid which will help unclog any clogged pores. Use these patches consistently until you cannot feel the pimples under your skin.

These acne stickers are well loved and widely used.

Use a good topical antibiotic: Antibiotics help with getting rid of the bacteria that cause the pimples. In addition to this, they are great at reducing what inflammation you might have in and around your blind pimple.

Apply some tea tree oil to the area: If you’d rather not use an antibiotic on the area then you can use tea tree oil as an alternative. Tea tree oil has the same bacteria-fighting power as the antibacterial options but is a natural option.

For the best result, you need to use a 5% tea tree oil. Never use tea tree oil on its own, you need to dilute it with a carrier oil first.

This tea tree oil is well loved and widely used.

Honey: If you prefer, you can use honey as an alternative to over the counter antibacterial products. The antimicrobial properties of honey will help get rid of the bacteria that causes the pimples.

Causes of pimples with no head

Blind pimples can be found in the same areas that normal pimples can be found, ie: the areas that have more oil glands.

These areas include the chest, face, shoulders, back and the neck.

The oil glands (sebaceous glands) are pores that produce sebum which is necessary for the normal functioning of the skin, the skin needs this oil to stay healthy and moisturized.

They form in a similar way to regular pimples: when the pore gets filled with sebum and dead skin cells combine to clog the pore.

In this case, this happens deep in the skin so this pimple is unable to reach the top of the skin’s surface to produce a head.

The formation of the pimple under the skin results in a raised bump filled with sebum and dead skin cells with no way out.

In addition, because they are deep they are close to nerves, that is why when you try to pop them it will be very painful.

Prevention:

• You should avoid washing your face too many times a day. Over-washing can cause irritation. You might also develop more blind pimples if you clean the skin too often, the friction will make the skin more irritated. Read more about how over-washing your face can give you pimples.

• You should also lay off scrubbing your skin too much. The pimples will not disappear if the skin is being vigorously scrubbed. Over exfoliation is something else you should be worried about, read more here.

• Ensure that you wash your pillowcases and linen on a regular basis. This area can harbour bacteria and dirt that can cause pimples. Every time you sleep you will be transferring this onto your face.

Pimples happen for a variety of reasons.

Your skin is a map and the pimple location will help you understand why that pimple has emerged.

You can figure out how to determine the reason for your pimple based on the pimple location by clicking here.

Washing your face alone will not get rid of the pimples.

There are a few other steps in your skincare routine that will help you get rid of the pimple, find out why you’re still getting pimples even though you wash your face by clicking here.

There are many ways in which you can prevent pimples from forming. The best way to do this will include figuring out and sticking to a good skincare routine for your skin type.

This article offers a skincare routine for oily skin. If you would prefer a skincare routine that is all-natural then click this link.

How long does it take for a blind pimple to disappear?

If you’ve ever had a blind pimple you know how irritating they can be.

Trying to pop it yourself will always be a bad idea, you’ll have to wait for it to disappear on its own.

Blind pimples usually take about 5-10 days to disappear. This may seem like a long time but trust me, popping it will make the situation worse.

Trying to pop the blind pimple can make it more inflamed and it can also become more infected if you don’t pop it correctly.

What to do when you feel a big pimple coming?

The best way to deal with it is to calm it down and reduce its size before it gets large. If you follow these steps you’ll get the pimple to go down quickly and with no pain.

Cleanse your face: If you’re developing pimples there is definitely bacteria on your face. To prevent your pimple from getting bigger you need to clear away all that bacteria.

Make sure your cleanser contains salicylic acid, this will kill off acne-causing bacteria on your face.

Ice your skin: Ice is great for calming pimples and soothing them as well, this will reduce your pimple size and encourage it to heal faster.  It will also reduce any pain and redness that you may be dealing with

Use acne spot treatment: Use something that has been specifically designed to treat acne (like this).

The pimple may not have developed into acne but the products you use can get rid of acne-causing bacteria on your skin.

Some treatment options can even help with sebum regulation on your skin

Cover the blind pimple: Use a hydrocolloid patch (like these), it will keep you from picking or trying to pop your pimple.

The patch will also allow the pimple to heal faster because you’ve created a clean and moist environment for it to heal in

Conceal it: If you have a pimple coming and it’s red then you can cover it up with some concealer if you really need to. 

Alternatively, you can cancel the redness by using a colour corrector under your make up

Remove makeup after: If you decide to wear makeup over your pimple make sure that you remove it well afterwards.

Use an oil-based cleanser to really break up your makeup and actually remove it.

The oil cleansers will also clear off any excess oil on your face. This is a good oil-based cleanser option

Why is my pimple so swollen?

Your pimple is so swollen because it’s full of bacteria.

When the bacteria gets into your blackhead or whitehead and infects the clogged pore you develop a pimple that starts to swell up as the infection spreads.

The swollen pimple can also get red and painful. A similar scenario happens with cystic acne.

You get cysts when the pimple happens deep under the skin.

These are usually very painful, red and more difficult to deal with because they are so deep.

Do blind pimples always come to a head?

Blind pimples rarely come to a head, blind pimples are actually cystic acne.

Cystic acne can show up on or in your skin, cystic acne isn’t always a blind pimple but a blind pimple is always cystic acne.

If you want to get rid of your blind pimple the last thing you want to do is to pick at it and try to pop it, the most efficient way to get rid of it is to get a cortisone shot at your dermatologist’s office.

After the shot, you can expect the pimple to disappear in 24 to 48 hours.

Why do I keep getting blind pimples in the same area?

If you have a retuning pimple or zit you’re actually looking at the same pimple reincarnating itself.

Each pore is a channel that extends deep into the skin. We have oil glands connected to these channels.

When your dead skin cells, acne-causing bacteria and excess sebum enter the pore the pore expands and creates a sack which contains the clog.

The blockage happens deeper in the skin further down in the channel, that channel can branch out and oil can hide away in the branches.  

If you pop the pimple and it seems as though it has disappeared there still may be some clog deep in the skin which will appear later in the same or similar location

Can I stick a needle in a sebaceous cyst?

You can technically stick a needle in as sebaceous cyst but it can risky and I wouldn’t suggest you do it yourself.

Using a needle on your cyst to drain it can be very effective if done by a doctor.

The doctor will create an incision with the needle to get to the cyst. The fluids in the cyst will be drained and your swelling and pain will also go down.

If you do it yourself you can wind up making the situation worse.

If you don’t do it correctly you can damage the tissue around your cyst, you can infect the surrounding tissue creating more cysts and if you don’t drain it we enough it can come back.

The cyst can also scar under the surface even if the drain is done by a doctor.

Is toothpaste good for blind pimples?

No toothpaste is not good for blind pimples.

Aplying toothpaste on your cyst will only irritate it more, this is the last thing you want to happen especially on this very swollen, sensitive and painful type of acne.

Using toothpaste on the blind pimple can also result in you developing redness, sensitivity and contact dermatitis which will make your acne worse.

Using toothpaste may seem like a good way of drying out the cyst but the cyst won’t benefit from being dried out, it heals well when its moisturised and treated with an acne treatment.

That’s it for this article on how to shrink pimples with no head. I hope that you enjoyed this article and it was helpful to you. If you enjoyed this article please share it.