glambition!

Hi!

Last minute pimples before an event are such a pain! There’s a few things you can do, depending on how much time you have before your big day:

When you don’t have time:

Dermatologists will actually inject cortisone into the pimple which smooths it out in a few hours. For less extreme cases and when you’re in a pinch, try dabbing on some over the counter hydrocortisone cream. It will calm the redness and flatten the pimple. 

When you’ve got a little time:

If you’ve still got a day or two, I would suggest using a spot treatment with benzoyl peroxide. A strong one. This will help kill off the bacteria, shrink the size and dry it out. Clean & Clear’s Persa-Gel 10 comes in at a whopping 10% benzoyl peroxide. That should do the trick!

Prevention:

Prevention is the best treatment. It’s easier to prevent outbreaks than to chase them after they happen. If you’re prone to spots, a gentle acne routine all over the face is most effective. Try a mild acne pad, like MenScience’s Advanced Acne Pads ($24), to help exfoliate, soothe and cleanse. These are a great option as it allows you to stick with the face wash, toner and moisturizer you’re already using. Don’t forget sunscreen!

Hi there!

If you want to do them yourself, this video is an awesome how-to. She does this with extensions, but you’ll do the same thing on your own hair. Since you’re only wanting to put a few in your hair, I’d recommend trying to do it yourself before paying for it.

If you’d rather have someone else do it, call around to some salons and see what methods they use for dreading (if they do dreads). Many salons will do what is called a “dread perm”, where they wrap your on curler-like rods and use chemicals to convince your hair to dread. The downside to that is 1.) price and 2.) damage. This can cost anywhere between $200 and $300.

Your best bet at a salon is to find a friendly hairstylist who knows how to create dreads (without perming). You’ll most likely pay them between $25 and $30 per hour. 

Regarding your hair’s texture, you should have NO problem achieving straight, clean dreads. Curly hair, especially thin or normal curly hair, should give you no problems. 

Removing dreads without damage or cutting is going to require some work. I highly recommend trying a dreadlock removal kit or something specifically formulated to remove tangles and matted hair.

Knotty Boy has some awesome tutorials for dreads and you can purchase their ">removal kit here. Don’t forget to prepare yourself for caring for your dreads. Check out this post one soap residue and build up prevention!