The only thing worse than a pimple is a pimple you can’t see. Do you know those pimples? The silent but deadly killers? Those are the pimples that tend to crop up around lips and noses as well as on the chin. These pimples aren’t ones that others can see, but boy can you feel them. It seems that what they lack in visibility they make up for in pain.

Where Do Blind Pimples Come From?

First we must consider, what causes acne? Acne, in general, comes from four different sources:

• Excess oil production: Have you ever noticed that acne most frequently appears on your face, forehead, chest, upper back, and shoulders? That’s because these are the areas where our skin has the most oil glands.

• Clogged hair follicles: Hair follicles are connected to the oil glands on those popular acne sites. Pimples are caused when follicle walls bulge. This produces a white head. When a hair follicle becomes blocked and then infected or inflamed, acne shows up in red bumps with white centres.

• Bacteria: Bacteria clogging skin pores turns brown when it hits the air, causing what is commonly referred to as, “blackheads.”

• Excess hormone activity: A hormone called androgen is produced in higher-than-average quantities during puberty. Androgen causes sebaceous glands (oil glands) to get larger and make even more sebum (oil).

Blind pimples, though, aren’t just any acne. Blind pimples form below the surface and are not typically noticeable from a distance. However, while these pimples might not be seen, they can certainly be felt. That is because blind pimples are more of a cyst or a nodule.

These cyst-like lumps, also known as blind pimples, are formed when a hair follicle becomes blocked deep inside the follicle itself. What’s blocking the follicle? Well, that would be a combination of sebum (oil), which we have already established is developed in greater quantities during puberty, bacteria, and dirt.

Flawed Battle Plans

The standard, go-to plan of attack against acne is to pop the pimple, right? That’s because typically acne shows up on our faces and elsewhere as whiteheads or blackheads that can be popped. But what do you do when there is nothing to pop? 

When you feel that blind pimple throbbing under your skin you might feel tempted to try the same technique and to pop it, as well. Fight that instinct! Trying to pop pimples that you cannot see is only going to make things worse. First of all, the squeezing and poking could leave a permanent scar. Not to mention the attempted-popping is definitely going to and could cause the pimple to become visible in the worst way - red and irritated. 

Pimples are made up of a blend of oil, dead skin cells, and bacteria - even the pimples you cannot easily see. If you try to pop your pimple-beneath-the-surface, all of the oils, dead skin cells and bacteria get pushed deeper into your skin. This could lead to inflammation or even an infection.

As it turns out, popping even the most visible of pimples (blackheads and whiteheads) is not a recommended form of treatment, either. It may be satisfying to feel that pop, but it’s even more satisfying to return your skin to its natural, smooth appearance. Popping pimples can cause the breakout to spread and lengthens the healing time of the clog, infection, or inflammation. Try one of Keeva’s many Acne Treatments instead of popping next time.

How to Get Rid of Blind Pimples

It seems that pimples, especially those tricky hidden ones, are magnets, drawing our fingers to them again and again throughout the day. Even when we know it’s only going to hurt or make things worse, we can’t seem to resist touching our pimples! Fight this instinct! Touching your pimple, even before it has a visible head, never helps.

So if it’s not with popping and prodding, how CAN you get rid of a blind pimple? Here are some simple treatments you can try at home:

• Make a warm compress: Just wet a washcloth with hot water - make sure it’s not unbearably hot - and then hold the compress against the affected area. Keep the compress there until it cools off - about 10 or 15 minutes. Repeat this process three or four times a day until the pimple makes itself seen and comes to a head. Then the pimple should release its pus and be well on its way to healing and disappearing.

• Ice, ice, baby: Once your pimple has been popped, if it’s still bothering you, try some ice, baby! First, clean the area with our Clarifying Acne Face Wash. This 5-in-1 formula is made from, among other essential oils, tea tree oil, which is a widely recommended treatment against acne. (It’s also a cruelty-free and vegan product!)

Once the area is washed, pat your pimple dry with a dry cloth. Then pop an ice pack on that pesky pimple and hold it for five minutes at a time. This treatment method can also be used three or four times a day, just like the warm compress, to reduce redness, inflammation, and swelling.

• Acne stickers: Acne stickers are like small bandages that go directly on top of a blind pimple. The goal and hope is that the sticker will pull out the bacteria, sebum (oil), and dirt from the hair follicle, removing the substances that caused the pimple to form in the first place.

• Tea tree oil: Tea tree oil is a gentle and natural, yet effective and powerful, weapon in the war against acne. Tea tree oil is a natural disinfectant that dries out the blind pimple, leaching the clogging substances from the follicle, just like the acne sticker, only in a more natural and gentle way. Using tea tree oil for acne is guaranteed to keep your face and back soft and clean.

Fortunately, Keeva has a proven and organic Tea Tree Oil Acne Serum as well as a Tea Tree Oil Acne Treatment Cream. The Tea Tree Oil used in both products is obtained via through steam distillation of the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia plant. This plant is native to China and is one of the most powerful and versatile plants nature has to offer. Tea Tree Oil is a very popular acne treatment, and that’s because it works. Try either one of our Tea Tree Oil based products on your blind pimples and those invisible enemies will be gone in no time.

• Raw honey: Another natural treatment for blind pimples is raw honey. This is not your grandma’s supermarket honey, honey. We’re talking about raw honey straight from the source. Raw honey has natural antimicrobial properties that help get rid of the follicle-clogging bacteria that is causing your blind pimple to form.

Preemptive Strike - How to Avoid Blind Pimples 

It’s human nature to desire easy, simple solutions to our problems - and we can probably all agree that blind pimples and their acne kin are problems. However, like most things in life, there is no foolproof, easy, simple way to avoid blind pimples from forming. Unfortunately, there are just some causes and sources that are out of our control - like our hormones, and the presence of dirt and bacteria in our lives.

What is in our control, however, is how well and routinely we care for our skin. Caring for your skin well is really the only real defence you have in the war against acne. The best way to avoid blind pimples is through daily, consistent, powerful preemptive strikes. Fortunately, any of the Keeva products previously mentioned here are great weapons that are gentle enough to be used every day and powerful enough to be effective. Keeva’s natural Acne Treatments can be used even before a blind pimple starts to form to keep that formation from happening.

By washing your face every day and using Keeva’s moisturizers, serums, and creams, you should be finding less and less blind pimples popping up on your face, forehead, upper back, and shoulders.