Why the Same Pimple Keeps Rearing Its Ugly Head on Your Face Over and Over Again

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published 28 January 2015

The scene: Your left nostril. The crime: A pimple that finally disappears only to torture you by resurfacing again and again and again in perpetuity forever. The motive: Driving you crazy for no reason at all?

Okay but really: Why does this happen? And to so many of us?

While we know what causes pimples in the first place (opens in new tab)—stress, hormones, diet, touching our skin, etc.—the case about why certain zits just won't go away is still unsolved. So we took it to the pros.

"Zits reappear in the same place because a pore may have gotten damaged and keeps getting re-infected," explains celebrity estheticianRenée Rouleau. (opens in new tab) "Picking at a blemish can loosen the cell lining of the pore and cause the clogged oil to slip deeper into the skin, creating an inflammatory reaction."

Yeesh. The silver lining? It is possible for a pimple to go away for good, but only if you STOP. PICKING. and adjust your lifestyle to help avoid flare-ups in the first place. "If it's food, stress, a product/ingredient, or hormone-related, and you remove the cause, the symptom should disappear," says Rouleau.

As far as eradicating that sucker goes, your arsenal should consist of a spot treatment that contains salicylic acid, which works to get into the pore lining and reduce acne-causing bacteria. And here's the key: Use it even after that pimple is gone. Keep applying it to the offending area and you might just avoid those resurgences altogether. Try these:

Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment / Renée Rouleau BHA Clarifying Serum

1. Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment, $7.49; drugstore.com (opens in new tab).

2. Renée Rouleau BHA Clarifying Serum, $47.50; reneerouleau.com (opens in new tab).

You should also check out:

The 8 Worst Things You Can Do to Your Skin (opens in new tab)

Why We're Not Growing Out of Our Acne Like Everyone Said We Would (opens in new tab)

What's That Like? 10 Celebrities With the World's Most Perfect Skin (opens in new tab)

The Weird But Totally Mind-Blowing Skin Care Powers of Turmeric (opens in new tab)

Lauren is the former beauty editor at Marie Claire. She love to while away the hours at coffee shops, hunt for vintage clothes, and bask in the rough-and-tumble beauty of NYC. She firmly believes that solitude can be a luxury if you’ve got the right soundtrack—that being the Rolling Stones, of course.