As if all other problems that crop up during adolescence were not enough, we have acne!
I can never forget the agony of waking up on a beautiful summer morning, marching straight to the mirror to admire my early-morning-glow and instead, finding myself staring at a pimple the size of Australia!
To my twisted teenage mind, it seemed like an affliction worse than cancer. But now that I am older and wiser(kind of), here is my take on the myths/facts surrounding this unwelcome malady -
1) Scientists have repeatedly said that pimples are not caused by chocolates, sour foods, spicy foods, etc. But according my experience(and my hidden scientific genius), if you eat any of the above and then THINK that you are going to get a pimple, you WILL get it! So please go ahead and indulge in spicy, sour, sweet foods if you have 100% conviction that your indulgences will not be rewarded with acne. Alternately, if you are a guilt-ridden foodie like me, its better to abstain.
2) Washing your face a zillion times a day will do nothing except hike your water bills and annoy people who want to use the wash basin when you are monopolizing it. Washing your face with a mild soap/facewash thrice a day is enough unless you are working in a coal mine. And of these 3 times, the most important ritual is washing just before you sleep, since that is when the evil bacteria come out and play.
3) Now that you have conserved so much water, why not drink it? I personally find it impossible to drink more than 2 litres of water a day but that is enough. Any other liquids that you might have(milk, buttermilk, juice) also contribute to the overall water intake but do try and drink atleast 1.5 litres of pure, unadulterated water.
4) Medication for acne is a strange topic. If you sit and compile a list of all homegrown remedies for this, it will probably run into a million pages. Since I am a firm believer in modern medicine and the wonders of allopathy, I can only recommend that you visit a good dermatologist if the problem is getting out
of hand(read - more than 10% of your facial surface area is covered with acne). My dermatologist recommended’Erythromycin’ gel and it worked like magic. Even if I am stranded on a desert island with no food and water, you can bet I will have my tube of Erythromycin gel with me(its not that I am vain, its only so that I look pretty enough for a passing ship to want to rescue me).
5) Finally, the most controversial question of it all - Should you pick your pimples or leave them alone? Well, its very difficult to leave something that is occupying half your face’alone’ but there is a good way to do this. If your pimples are reddish and not that bumpy, you can always use a good concealer to minimize their appearance. Am saying’minimize’ and not’hide’ because there is no way you can hide them.
And by’good’ concealer, I mean really good. It should be very light in texture and match your skin shade exactly. Practise applying this a few times at home and look at it from different angles. Wipe off gently with damp cotton.
Just to make you feel better, many top Bollywood actresses/models have bad complexions but look how gorgeous they appear on camera. Its all about makeup!
So now that you have all the gyaan to deal with those little bumps on the road of life, just accept them and move on. And remember, if you are still getting pimples, you are still young!