Pimples: The Volcanoes of My Face

I’ve had a pimple problem since puberty. The pimples have been here for so long now that it feels like I’ve had them forever. So long that I can’t imagine life without them! :D

It all started when I was in my teens, that time and phase in life when weird stuff starts to happen - armpits start to sprout hair, mounds start to form on the once smooth chest, the meaning of pubic hair suddenly becomes clear…

It was in those years when my body started to change that pimples erupted on the smooth ground of my cheeks. They were huge angry bumps that hurt and itched like hell. Red and inflamed they spewed white goo when squeezed.

Yep, I have that peculiar quirk, I can’t keep my fingers off a pimple. If a pimple shows up, before long you’ll find me peering into a mirror and squeezing the pimple dry. I could write a PHD on the art of pinching a pimple.

I simply can’t tolerate the sight or the itch of a pimple. No matter how many times, Mom, Aunts and friends sat me down and explained the repercussions of pinching pimples (they said more would come, it would leave marks and what not), I just couldn’t stay off the pimple pile.

Other than pinching pimples over the years I’ve also tried numerous solutions and nuska’s as we call them in the hope of making them go away. Face packs, creams, face washes, face scrubs, fruits, foods, drinks, allopathy, ayurvade, … you name it and I’ve most probably tried it.



Some things worked well and helped control the amount but nothing made them go away or stop reappearing. I was told over the years they would stop, getting married would make them go away [apparently sex was as solution :D ], producing babies would help, but God help me, coz nothing else did. Even today they keep sprouting though the month and in larger number around my menstruating time. :(

However here are some things that did help me (at least partially) -

• a glass of warm water with a tsp. of honey and juice of half a lime on an empty stomach in the morning


• neem based face washes (Have tried a few, time to try Garnier Pure Active Neem now)


• Johnson’s baby soap


• washing my face twice a day


• clarithromycin cream


• a face wash of my own concoction of powders (I’ll share this recipe someday soon)

All said and done, what worked best against the pimples and made my life, skin and self-image better was, making peace with it all. I now am happy for pimples, they make for good time pass at the mirror and my bumpy pimply face, marked and scarred by years of volcanoes adds to my character. :D

****This post idea came from a contest run on IndiBlogger by Garnier for their new Garnier Pure Active Neem facewash.****

Photo Credit: Chenthil Mohan