The 7-day clear skin regime to try if you’re breaking out from holiday stress!

Let’s “face” the facts: Pimples are a pain – and quite literally too, speaking as someone who’s borne the brunt of a cystic outbreak. Even worse, overly harsh off-the-counter zit zappers only serve to shrivel up your skin into a frightful flaky mess.   

But hold up, it’s not all doom and gloom. If you’re agonising over acne and parrying an onslaught of outsized pores, click through the gallery slides for all the top tricks you need to stamp out your spots – they should alleviate your acne in a scant seven days, at least on my count. Good luck getting into the clear!

Image illustration: Alice Chua.

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Confession: I used to be of the beauty school of thought that if my face didn’t feel “tight” after cleansing, it ain’t clean and my skin’s still dirty.

Oh, how wrong I was. That squeaky clean sensation is so 1990s. We now know that odds are, if your face feels as if it’s been stretched by a plastic surgeon, it’s probably too clean – not a good thing at all, because that means your cleanser is wicking away water and lipids, both of which are crucial for cushioning our complexion.

Happily, there are a couple of next-gen cleansers that get the job done without collateral damage to your skin. To wit, try splashing out on Nivea’s nifty new White Oil Control Make Up Clear Micellar Water, $9.90, which gently soaks up grime and grease and alleviates acne with lactic acid at the same time. Simply saturate a cotton pad, swipe it on, then wipe off for wobbly tofu skin.

Want more? Discover if your period-related pimple problems are telling you something about your health, and find out if you’re guilty of this surprisingly common sleeping quirk which may be the cause of fine lines and wrinkles the morning after. Get your daily dose of beauty at www.herworldplus.com/beauty.

Sad fact: Clogged pores are the precursor to pimples, which are an even bigger pain in the face. To block these buggers from ever becoming blemishes, treat ‘em with an ad hoc “mask” by way of say, Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Balm, $56, a cutting-edge cleanser which comes stuffed with acne-alleviating algae and other skin soothers to squelch the swelling that makes pimples so unpleasantly prominent.

Simply dab a dollop of your balm onto blemish-riddled regions like the nose and let dry for about 20 minutes. With any luck, this DIY deep cleansing mask should get to action straight away to decongest pores virtually instantly.

Want more? Discover if your period-related pimple problems are telling you something about your health, and find out if you’re guilty of this surprisingly common sleeping quirk which may be the cause of fine lines and wrinkles the morning after. Get your daily dose of beauty at www.herworldplus.com/beauty.

The basic building block of a blemish-free face? Elementary, my dear: Exfoliation is where it’s at. Now, while it’s true that hardcore scrubs should be avoided at all costs, exfoliation really is for everyone – in fact, if you have reactive skin, gently lifting off debris and dead cells can actually help to unclog pores.

My obsession du jour? Biotherm’s wondrous Wonder Mud, $59, a “magical” mousse that melts into my mien and does an ace job of sloughing off dead skin without aggravating acne or exacerbating eczema. This excellent exfoliant boasts a blend of antioxidant actives courtesy of algae and astaxanthin, plus a calming clay to clear out the riff-raff clogging up your pores. Used twice weekly, this deeply detoxifying pore-tightening poultice affords me a noticeably brighter visage, even (and especially!) when I’ve been pulling all-nighters in the office.

Want more? Discover if your period-related pimple problems are telling you something about your health, and find out if you’re guilty of this surprisingly common sleeping quirk which may be the cause of fine lines and wrinkles the morning after. Get your daily dose of beauty at www.herworldplus.com/beauty.

Once you’ve splashed off your scrub with warm water, top up with a heaping helping of hydrating moisturiser. There’s method to the moisturiser, so to speak – using a calming cream on pimple-prone skin may reduce oil production by cajoling sebaceous glands into cutting back on overproduction.

Opt for skin-softening salves like Kiehl’s new Dermatologist Solutions Breakout Control Blemish Treatment Facial Lotion, $80, a featherweight formula boasting salicylic and lipo hydroxy acids to diminish dullness and aloe plus vitamin B3 to calm and comfort distressed skin – with the bonus of not feeling greasy and gross in the least.

Pro tip: To purge pores and zap zits faster, try layering it over your salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide treatments – this “topcoat” of moisture will help to fend off the frightful flakiness that can be a side effect of some of your harsher medications. Bottomline: Always lube up with a lightweight lotion, no matter how oily you think your skin is!

Want more? Discover if your period-related pimple problems are telling you something about your health, and find out if you’re guilty of this surprisingly common sleeping quirk which may be the cause of fine lines and wrinkles the morning after. Get your daily dose of beauty at www.herworldplus.com/beauty.

If topical treatments do nothing for you, consider Botox. Yes, we’re talking the very same injectable that’s the elixir of choice of ladies who are prone to disappearing for mysteriously long lunchtime breaks.

Formidable face-freezing properties aside, what aid can Botox provide in our battle against blemishes? The next-gen treatment – referred to in aesthetic dermatological circles as “intradermal” or “micro” Botox – involves injecting teensy-weensy droplets of botulinum toxin into the microscopic muscles monitoring pore activity in your skin. The paralysis of said muscles is believed to shrink pores and slow sebum production down to a trickle – which in turn helps to alleviate acne.

The result? Proponents of micro Botox say this lunchtime procedure will lend a beguiling boost to your complexion that’s incredibly subtle – your skin, only better, with less oil and fewer blemishes to boot.

This all seems well and good, but it behooves me to add that complete remission of existing acne may take months, as this treatment involves the reconditioning of your sebaceous glands. It’s pricey, too – expect to pay at least a couple of hundred dollars per pop – plus you may have to undergo multiple sessions if you have particularly recalcitrant pimples.

Right, then. Here’s hoping your time spent “poring” over this piece will result in perfectly pimple-free skin on your part. Sending all of you good skin vibes!

Image: 123rf.com.

Want more? Discover if your period-related pimple problems are telling you something about your health, and find out if you’re guilty of this surprisingly common sleeping quirk which may be the cause of fine lines and wrinkles the morning after. Get your daily dose of beauty at www.herworldplus.com/beauty.