Beauty School, a series from T Magazine, answers common beauty questions with help from creative people who’ve become experts on the job. Sign up here to find us in your inbox once a month, and send any questions of your own to tmagazine@nytimes.com.
The artist SZA, who’s currently on a national concert tour with the rapper Kendrick Lamar, knows what it’s like to panic at the sight of an untimely pimple. “I used to attack my breakouts with [too many treatments], and it pissed my skin off,” she says. Now the singer — who recently launched the makeup brand Not Beauty — takes a gentler approach with what she calls her “holy grail products.” Here, SZA, the dermatologist David Kim and the aesthetician Tiara Willis share their go-to tools and techniques for safely dealing with a blemish in a pinch.
David Kim, 41, dermatologist
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If you wake up with an angry zit, ice your face or use a [chilled] steel face roller. Hold it on the pimple for about one minute in the morning and at night to bring the swelling down.
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When dealing with a blackhead, the goal is to unclog that pore. A retinoid like Youth to the People’s Retinal + Niacinamide Serum or SkinBetter Science’s AlphaRet Clearing Serum will help prevent or treat a pimple over time.
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I put most of my acne clients on benzoyl peroxide. Paula’s Choice’s Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment is my favorite formulation. Wash your face and then layer this on like a serum. It also has various barrier supportive ingredients like allantoin. Sulfur is a [great alternative], if you’re sensitive to benzoyl peroxide, to dry out and shrink the blemish. I recommend Face Reality’s Sulfur Spot Treatment.
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Topicals’ Clearly Acne Mist calms irritated, inflamed acne and clears out those clogged pores. Use this three times a day — and post-gym if you don’t have time to wash the sweat off your face.
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A tinted sunscreen is a good two-in-one: You should protect your skin while using [anti-acne] actives that increase sun sensitivity, and the tint can also [cover] any redness. I like the ones from NARS and the one from Super Goop, which is available in a lot of shades.
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These interviews have been edited and condensed.
