Tips: How to treat acne and pimples?

We have all at some point experienced skin breakouts, pimples, blackhead and acne. They are horrible little things that cause pain and discomfort. As a teenager I went through a few years of pimples and blackheads, and now as a adult I still have the occasional times when I breakout.

Looking after your skin when you have acne takes a little more work and time for it to work. For me, when I have breakouts I try to:

1.Cleanse twice a day with a cleanser that has salicylic acid. ( When my skin is good, I only cleanse once at night and in the morning I just rinse with water)

2. Use a exfoliant cleanser ( every second or third day) that has fine granules or salicylic acid in a mild form so that it is a gentle exfoliant.

2. Use a light lotion/moisturiser that has salicylic acid.

3. Usually in the evening, I use a spot treatment.

4. If wearing makeup - use water based oil free makeup

(If you want to know more about what salicylic acid is read this post - here)

Some products that I have tried that have worked for me are the Burts Bees Anti - Blemish Solutions range, Dove, Dermalogica and Neutrogena products.

A few other things you can do:

1. Pore strips are great that you put on your nose or chin and then strip off to pull out the oil from your pores. (I currently use the Biore strips)

2. Do it yourself facial by placing a warm washcloth over the area can help open up the pores of the skin.

3. Ice can reduce the look of a blemish if it is swollen or red. Wrap a ice cube in a cloth, and place it on top of the blemish for a few minutes.

Of course the all time rule to any blemish is don't pick at it!

What do you do to treat skin blemishes? Are there any products that have particularly worked for you?