You CAN Get Rid Of Pimples Overnight: 10 Top Tips You Need

20 Feb, 2024

By Valda Noble

Aaargh! A pimple - your worst nightmare. You’ve got a hot date coming up tomorrow and a big red bump has appeared out of nowhere right in the middle of your chin. If you’re anything like me, you go straight into a panic attack. How can you get rid of it fast – like overnight?

It helps to understand just what caused that very unwelcome bump to appear in the first place. A blackhead or whitehead forms when too much sebum (oil) mixes with dead skin cells causing a blockage in the pore. In the right conditions this promotes the growth of the p. acnes bacteria causing a massive inflammatory reaction. That’s why your pimples go red.

So basically, you need to fix four things to get rid of your pimple as fast as possible – reduce any excess oil on the skin, clean out your pores, kill the bacteria, and reduce the redness.

It’s far more straightforward than you think. Here are 10 fast and easy ways you can make it happen - naturally or with a little help from powerful anti-acne ingredients. Choose between some highly effective skin clearing acne products, DIY pimple treatments at home or even a quick emergency trip to the derm, and your pimples can be pretty much gone overnight…

And no – you don’t need (or want) toothpaste…

Keep Your Skin Clean.
You want to reduce the build-up of oil, dirt, grime and bacteria which makes pimples worse. Cleanse twice a day using salicylic based products like CeraVe Blemish Control Cleanser and BioNike Aknet Purifying Cleansing Gel. Keep some face wipes handy to clean your face after a heavy workout or on a hot day.

It may be worth your while to invest in a sonic cleaner to help deep clean your pores. If these are a little pricey for your pocket, then use a facial brush for a deeper clean.

A word of warning – do NOT over cleanse (no more than twice a day) as this can stimulate production of excess oil. Gentle is the name of the game with an oily skin.

Steam Away.
A very simple solution is to open your skin pores to help get rid of all the bacteria, dirt and oil trapped inside your pores. Fill a large basin with boiling water, hold your face over the water placing a towel over both your head and the bowl to trap all the steam inside. Hold for about five minutes and then rinse your face with lukewarm water.

Ice That Spot.
Ice is very simple and effective way to help reduce all that swelling and inflammation. Hold an ice cube/pack directly onto the spot for 10-minute increments – 10 minutes on then 10 minutes off – for about an hour.

Emergency DIY Trifecta Spot Treatment.
Dr. Joshua Zeichner, Director of Cosmetic & Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital suggests a combination of benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and 1% hydrocortisone cream in a custom acne spot treatment.

Benzoyl peroxide kills acne causing bacteria, salicylic acid unclogs pores and helps remove excess oil, and the cortisone cream reduces inflammation and redness. This way, you can treat angry red pimples by fixing as many of the underlying problems as possible.

For benzoyl peroxide, we recommend Benzac AC 5 Gel. Mix it with concentrated salicylic acid treatments like BioNike Aknet Quick Pen Anti-Imperfector, Celltone Spot Blitzer, or Acne Solutions Clear Skin Blemish SOS Spot Corrector. You can get an OTC cortisone cream from your local pharmacy dispensary.

Note: This combo treatment is best for big red zits but is less effective for those nasty blind spots where the pimple is deep within the skin.

Blind spots are best treated with regular doses of pure salicylic acid (or a trip to your derm). Start off with a salicylic rich mask like Skin Republic’s Spots And Blemish Face Mask, and follow up with concentrated salicylic acid spot treatments like Skin Republic Salicylic Acid 2% Serum in the morning and at night.

Read More. Here's How to Effectively Treat Every Type of Acne (And Hide Them Too!)

Raid the Medicine Cabinet.
If you are totally out of pimple treatment products, a good go-to home remedy is to break out the aspirin (like Disprin - not paracetamol). Aspirin contains a form of salicylic acid which helps dry out the bump and reduce swelling and redness. Crush up one aspirin, add a dab of water and apply the paste - leave on as long as possible.

Try Tea Tree Oil.
Another one of those great DIY remedies. Tea tree oil clears up all sorts of stuff — like mozzie bites and minor burns — and it can help get rid of pimples, too. Just combine 4 drops of tea tree oil with 1 tablespoon of jojoba oil, dab some on a cotton bud and apply it directly to the spot.

Just be careful not to over use it – while it is gentler than some of the normal acne treatments, it can dry out your skin. And dry skin just means your skin will overreact by producing more unwanted oil - and more of the dreaded pimples.

Cortisone Injections.
If you wake up the day before your dream job interview with a big flaming red pimple, your best bet is to take yourself off to a derm. For an almost immediate fix, you can get yourself a cortisone injection. It's quick and easy, with little discomfort, and the pimple usually goes down overnight.

But you should keep these for those real emergencies only. Aside from the expense, overuse can lead to facial scarring.

Hydrocortisone Cream.
A concentrated topical dose of hydrocortisone can be the next best thing after an injection – and much cheaper to boot. If the pimple is large and inflamed, using a little bit of over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream can take out about 80 percent of the red and make it flatter overnight – pretty close to what an injection does.

Dab a tiny bit right onto your pimples at night, and again the next morning. Just don’t rely on this trick too often as too much hydrocortisone can thin the skin and lead to more breakouts and sensitivity.

Retinoids - Differin Adapalene Gel.
Another option to improve skin cell turnover and, in doing so, clear up your pimples, is to use a retinoid like Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%. It fights the main causes of acne by regulating skin cell turnover as well as reducing inflammation deep in the skin to clear and prevent pimples.

Prescription strength Adapalene is only available on script from your derm. Otherwise try the milder vitamin A alternative (also known as retinaldehyde or retinal for short) available in Skoon Retinin Retinal 0.1% Resurfacing Cream from Dis-Chem.

Keep Your Hands Off.
We know. We all want the dreaded spot gone, like, right now, so you may be tempted to pop it. Just don't - it's not worth it. Picking causes the bacteria from the pimple to spread into surrounding skin (meaning even more pimples and a big red infected mess) so it will take much longer to heal. It can also lead to scarring so even if it is begging to be squeezed, leave it alone and cover up with concealers instead.

While these spot treatments can help with the odd problematic pimple (and save you from an awkward hot date), the ideal is to prevent them from even happening so that you can naturally and permanently be free from acne. We know - easier said than done. But an understanding of the underlying causes of your pimples and a regular skin care regimen to keep your pores clean and skin oil free, can go a long way to help.

Read More. Expert Advice on How to Finally Get Rid of Your Acne

Beware the Toothpaste Trick:

Like all of us you’ve probably googled ‘get rid of pimples fast’ and tripped over the toothpaste trick. This is an old remedy which was used when toothpaste included an ingredient, triclosan, which helped reduce bacteria and inflammation. However, nowadays this ingredient is quite controversial so many toothpaste manufacturers have ditched it.

In a pinch, toothpaste can help as it does include ingredients to help dry out a zit - but at much higher levels than would normally be recommended for use on the skin. Besides, toothpaste has fragrance and other ingredients which can actually cause more sensitivity, not less. So just don’t do it. It may cause more harm than good.

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