Pimples are just annoying, but there’s no way to stop them from popping up. While you can’t prevent it, you can find a way to zap it quickly and painlessly.
In 2016, beauty vlogger and YouTube personality, Farah Dhukai, discovered a beauty hack that involves rubbing raw garlic on a pimple.
According to Dhukai the garlic will flatten a pimple and get rid of it instantly or overnight. This helps answer the question, can garlic remove blackheads?
How to Go About It
To get this done, take a clove of garlic and using a knife make some cuts to extract some juice. Rub the garlic on a pimple and let it sit. For smaller pimples, it will flatten instantly but for large pimple which is beneath the surface, leave the garlic overnight. By morning, it will have disappeared and it may not reappear according to Dukhai.
Does garlic for skin infection Work?
If we go by how viral the post became, we can say it works. Most people who tried garlic for hormonal acne hack came back saying it worked for them. But what do dermatologist say about this discovery?
Dermatologists such as Doris Day, M.D., agree that garlic could work thanks to its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties thus these claims may be legit. Day is the author of “100 Questions and Answers About Acne.”
However, dermatologist Marie Leger, M.D., Ph.D, claims it is not a “good idea” as she is not convinced by the viral beauty hack. Leager who is NYU’s assistant professor of dermatology, claims that garlic can cause contact dermatitis. People who develop contact dermatitis develop scaly rashes and blisters. Contact dermatitis leaves brown marks that may take months to clear.
Better Methods
Although Day agrees that garlic may help pop a zit, there are better methods that can reduce the appearance of a pimple fast. A simple 1% hydrocortisone cream is a better way to address a pimple.
However, if you prefer a natural remedy, aloe vera is a great alternative. Aloe contains great antioxidant benefits that form a breathable skin on top of the pimple which helps reduce the pain. Another advantage of aloe is that it has no pungent smell like garlic on face side effects.
Honey is another natural remedy that can be used on pimples. Yoghurt is also an alternative and a rich source of alpha hydroxy acids. AHAs are excellent exfoliants that can help loosen and unclog pores. Standard drugstore salicylic acids and benzoyl peroxide are also good alternatives.
When to Visit a Dermatologist
If your pimples are getting worse after attempting to treat with home or drugstore remedies, it is time to visit a dermatologist. According to Leger, the dermatologist will inject the pimple with a small steroid injection which will clear it fast.
Conclusion
Both Doris Day and Mary Leger are against the using of garlic on pimples. The fact that everyone is doing it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is safe. While Day agrees that garlic may work, its potential risks offset the benefits.
If for some reason or another you still want to go ahead with it, do a patch test first to find out if your skin reacts negatively to garlic. If not, go ahead and join the many Farah Dhukai fans that have tried it out.
Reference;
Be the first to comment