If you’re anything like us, the extent of your culinary repertoire is avocado toast and whatever fresh-ish produce is on hand for lobbing into the Vitamix.
Luckily for you this isn’t a food blog—even though this very post appears to be a food one (hint: it’s a skincare post, just like the rest of them. HA!).
Here’s a list of stuff from your kitchen that you can call on when a pimple arrives, but your ZitSticka supply is parched (none were made with KILLA's fantastique technology—if we may be so humble—but will help ease the pain until you can replenish your stocks).
Ice
Best for: calming deep-seated cystic types (subcutaneous pimples).
You know those roommates who never fill up the ice tray? No time for them.
In the same way you’d ice a sprained ankle to reduce swelling, icing a pimple abides by the same soothing logic. By constricting the blood vessels at the site, the redness and swelling of your pimple reduces, and the thing will appear like much less of an !!emergency zone!! Wrap a cube in a paper towel and hold to the rotten jerk for ten minutes on, ten minutes off. 
Lemon juice
Best for: Pimples that are almost ready to come to a head.
Carefully squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a bowl, being careful not to squirt yourself in the eye—for you may whimper and acne is already stressful enough. Soak one side of a cotton ball, squeeze off excess and dab some juice on your pimple. Because lemon juice is astringent (it causes the contraction of skin cells) it can have a drying effect on zits. Additionally, it's a pure form of Vitamin C which is both a potent antioxidant and a brightening agent. When life gives you lemons....
Aspirin
Best for: Both preventing and treating cystic acne and any pimples that seem recurrent or cyclical.
You know that super great, backed-by-dermatologists-worldwide ingredient, Salicylic Acid? Turns out that’s what aspirin is made from. Behold: “The compound from which the active ingredient in aspirin was first derived, salicylic acid, was found in the bark of a willow tree in 1763 by Reverend Edmund Stone of Chipping-Norton, England.” For the geeky granular details, the full literature is right here.
Green Tea bags
Best for: Reducing the swelling and redness of a pimple.
You’re likely familiar with the antioxidant properties of green tea, as a drinkable—but ever tried it on your face? Green tea beauty products are excruciatingly popular in Korea and Japan, places where the beauty industry has leaned into spoiling consumers with choice. Off the shelf and out of the bottle, visit your local kitchen (in your house) and work with the real thing. It’s like water bottled at the source, but for acne not thirst. There are a couple of ways to do this, the easiest of which is brewing a cup of green tea, allowing it to chill (or pre-refrigerating some like a boring organized adult) and holding it against your pimple for ten minutes. As with the ice theory, the cool temperature constricts blood vessels for reduced swelling, while green tea itself is an anti-inflammatory. The perks continue: it’s also a powerful antibacterial. And so we see green Tea might just be the Google of natural skincare.
Speaking of kitchens, is gluten or dairy your breakout trigger? Best read this.
