Last Updated on August 25th, 2020
By Dr. Jaggi Rao, MD, FRCPC, Double board-certified dermatologist
If you are doing everything under the sun to get rid of your zits, we feel your pain. Acne can be an annoying, nasty condition which has the potential to take over your life. From natural remedies to fancy and expensive medical treatments, 📜 there is an endless list of available methods to cure breakouts. One such method that is widely available, yet not known to many, is aspirin.
Luckily, you don’t necessarily need to ingest this type of medicine in order to experience its benefits. Instead, you are able to experience its healing properties by mixing it into various masks and lathering it onto the affected area. If you make use of this medicine as a topical ointment, you may experience a reduction in your skin’s irritation in no time.
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Many people take aspirin 👦🏻👱♀️👨🦰👧🏽👦🏿 to help reduce fever, pain, and inflammation, but it can also be applied topically to your skin to help reduce acne as well. This is because of the chemical makeup of aspirin. Aspirin is made of acetylsalicylic acid, which might sound a little familiar if you’ve been dealing with acne for a while. You might recognize salicylic acid as a popular acne treatment ingredient. When you dissolve aspirin in water, it will break up into acetyl acid and salicylic acid, making it a great home remedy for acne.
Salicylic acid, a component of aspirin, is effective for acne because it helps exfoliate the skin.
This means removing any excess oil, dead skin cells, and bacteria that could be contributing to your acne. However, salicylic acid should only be used in concentrations of 2% or lower. When you buy a salicylic acid product from the store, the concentration is listed on the product, but when you make a salicylic acid treatment out of aspirin at home, it’s hard to tell exactly what the concentration is. For that reason, 👌 we recommend you test any home acne treatment containing aspirin on a small section of your forearm before applying it all over your face.
Make sure to get aspirin that doesn’t have a coating. Avoid capsules and similar packages and go straight for the uncoated type. If you are worried that there may be some other components within the pill you are using, just scrape off the top layer – this is where additives are usually placed. You can also easily scrub the pill with running tap water until it no longer feels smooth in your hand. This means that anything that is not essential has gone down the drain and what remains is pure aspirin.
If you want to make your zits diminish, and ultimately, disappear, then you might want to try this super simple mask recipe! All it takes is some aspirin, a bit of water and a Q-tip. Take a small cup and pour a tiny teaspoon of water into it. Add two or three aspirin pills ⚪⚪⚪ and crush them well until you obtain an even paste. Add some witch hazel or aloe vera in order to maximize the mask’s soothing effects. These additional components also help to mix it all up better. Spread the mixture on your acne with a Q-tip, after you have made sure that your face is thoroughly cleansed as you don’t want to merely be spreading dirt around the inflamed region.
Let the mixture sit for a quarter of an hour at most. Why should you make sure not to exceed this time? It is not entirely clear, as very little research has been done on the topical application of aspirin. However, ingesting aspirin does result in thinner blood, especially if taken in large amounts. Your skin is able to absorb the aspirin, so chances are that it may be entering your blood in this way. For that reason, keep the product on your skin for a limited amount of time. When it is completely dry, wash it off with water or, if it has hardened too much, with a disinfected, wet towel.
Is your acne more extreme than usual? Use five or six aspirin pills, instead. Crush them up in a small amount of water and add a little apple cider vinegar. 🍎🍏 Not only will your irritation be calmed but your pores will be thoroughly cleansed, as well. You might even want to mix in some honey for an extra soothing effect. Moreover, depending on your skin type, you can pour some egg whites in. If your complexion is more on the dry side, pour in some olive oil for extra hydration.
The paste should be as even as possible, so stir it for as long as it takes.
If the procedure gets tedious, keep your eyes on the prize – think of the marvelous results for your skin that this mask will bring you.
When your concoction becomes soft and malleable, clean your hands thoroughly, take small portions of it and massage it into the affected areas. As always, avoid your eyes.
As before, let this mask sit for no more than a quarter of an hour, especially if your mixture is mostly made of aspirin. ✔️ Take the mask off using a damp towel and apply some toner or moisturizer. Don’t forget this step, as you just put a whole lot of drying product on your face. It is not necessary to repeat the process too frequently, so stick to doing it just once a week. You will be pleased with the results even after just one attempt!
Perhaps you have been battling acne for so long that you are completely sick of sitting around for a long time with a sticky, hardening layer all over your face. ✋ Fret not, as you are also able to create your own toner, which is a much simpler task that will take up less of your time, too. Take a bottle of water and drop two or three pills of the medicine into it. You might like to pour in some additional, beneficial components, so that your skin benefits as much as possible from the treatment. Don’t hesitate to add the incredibly soothing tea tree oil, some green tea or the aforementioned vinegar and witch hazel. If your aspirin begins to gather up at the bottom of the bottle, simply shake it up! It will dissolve right back into the mixture.
The best part about this toner is that you can use it any time you like, and as many times as you wish. Just grab your trusty bottle, shake it up and apply a small amount all over your face. Rejuvenated skin, here we come!
Although making skin scrubs is fun, it’s important to avoid using any kind of aspirin scrub. 📌 Crushed up aspirin has many sharp edges that are likely to damage your skin. It might not feel like much, but facial skin is sensitive, and irritation can lead to inflammation, which then leads to more acne. If you’re looking to exfoliate, the salicylic acid in aspirin will do the job all on its own, so there is no need to scrub at your skin as well.
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