Calamine Lotion

Hands down the best insect bite treatment there is! I often get bitten by fleas around my ankles and legs and almost everytime that happens I'm out of the country or somewhere remote, and my trusty bottle of calamine has been left behind! Like clockwork I go to the nearest pharmacy and grab whatever they recommend to soothe the bites and just like clockwork they make hardly any difference whatsoever to the itching. Well now I just decant into a small travel bottle and take with me regardless, having used dozens of preparations and ointments I can safely say this is the only thing that has ever worked for me. It stops the itch literally in its track, you just need to dot a thick layer of it on and allow it to air dry.

A tip: to prevent more bites use tea tree oil neat (but very thinly applied) to your lower legs and ankles and it drives the fleas away. Works for me everytime. Sensitive skin types dilute with a carrier oil first such as sweet almond (about 1/8th tea tree to carrier). Definitely don't use undiluted tea tree oil on sensitive areas or the face!


Selena x


~ My HG list ~

(As I've sampled many 100s of skin, hair and m/u products over the last decade and a half, I thought it might be useful to share my top 10 must-have products, subject to change if and when I come across something more effective. I love constantly trying out new stuff - usually sample sizes via e-bay, also plenty courtesy of a friend who works at Sephora)


1. Hair Loss Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Hair Oil
2. Lip Balm: 'Nuxe' - Reve De Miel Lip Balm
3. Pigmentation + Anti-Ageing Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Facial Treatment Serum
4. Cleanser: 'Paula's Choice' - Skin Balancing Cleanser
5. Concealer: ‘Mac’ - Studio Finish Concealer
6. Lash Growth Serum: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Divinelash
7. Foundation/SPF: ‘Juice Beauty’ - Stem Cellular Repair (warm glow)
8. Face Scrub: ‘Sisley' - Botanical Gentle Buffing Cream
9. Moisturizer: ‘Antipodes' - Rejoice Light Day Cream
10. Hand Cream: 'Origins' - Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment

My go to spot treatment. Extremely cheap, large size and very affordable. My skin just loves this stuff. I was trying some new, trending face care regimines and didn't realize how much it was irritating my face- or more so I didn't realize my face wasn't just breaking out but it was getting irritated/reacting.

I put this on overnight when it was really upset and woke up to almost no redness. It IS drying, yet not irritating. It's really hard to explain- drying yet soothing?? Kind of a paradox.

Lately I've liked to put on my other night treatments (salicylic acid or tea tree products) on my pimples or spots and then put the calamine over it once it has absorbed a bit. I think it protects the spot and enhances the effectiveness.

Obviously this isn't marketed towards acne specifically, so the bottle is a bit clunky and mine has a screw cap. You can easily transfer this to a different bottle- just make you shake it before each use!

Well this has been in my medicine cabinet for a while. It is one of those old time remedies that still actually works!

In facial skin care I use it as a spot treatment. I find it takes the inflammation right down. However the bentonite clay is drying so it is a last step at night with a Q-tip. (Do not double dip... ewww).

I haven't been using it much as I managed to deflect the inflamed acne I was getting but still getting blackheads on cheeks and jaw. I started using an enzyme/willow bark serum as it is meant to be a gentle exfoliating action rather than the sledge hammer of AHA's / BHA on my skin.
Well, it certainly has been drawing those bad boys to the surface. All at the same time.... a bit discouraging. However I remembered I have Calamine lotion. All is well.... PM I spot treat after moisturising / occlusion step.

AM if neccessary then a thin amount after moisturising before SS.

Also dare I say the PIH is not so intense after using as well?

But this thing is so cheap, and multi purpose. Love it...

Crazy cheap & effective!
I'm 26 & have been struggling with mild to moderate breakouts for about 6 years on and off (mostly on). I saw this was considered a top treatment in makeupalley & acne.org and figured what do I have to lose? Bought it at Wal-Mart for about $2. I noticed people said not to leave it on overnight, but I do! If I'm home during the day or evening, I shake the bottle, apply with a q tip on pesky spots (open or not) and leave it on for a few hours. I also apply at night over my serums & moisturizer (don't put this all over your face. It's not necessary and will dry you out). It's the only thing I've found in my many years of searching, that dries out the pimple/zit and doesn't irritate it. They heal way faster and it even helps with scarring! Note: wearing it overnight (spot treatement) has not dried out my skin or caused any irritation. Worth a try you guys!

I have to thank all the MUAers who reviewed this product for reminding me how great it is. I was somewhat shocked to realize that I didn't have a bottle in my medicine cabinet, so I bought one ASAP. Smart move on my part. A few days later, I developed a huge, painful, cystic blemish on my chin. I'm talking huge--raised, red, and covering a lot of real estate on my face. After washing my face, I quickly and gently swabbed it with alcohol and then applied calamine lotion (four times a day, cleaning prior to application before each use, when it was really bad, then tapering off). Within three days the blemish was almost unnoticeable. I was relieved and amazed. (Caution: this is *really* drying, so if you're using it on a blemish, try to keep the application only on the blemish, or clean up what's gotten outside that area with a wet Q-Tip. It'll keep you from having a large, flaky area where the blemish was.) This old-school stuff is the best for drawing/drying out rashes, blemishes, bug bites, and pretty much any other skin malady. It's readily available, it's cheap, and it's easy to use (you can apply with fingers, a cotton swab, or--the most efficient--a sponge-tip eyeshadow applicator). If you don't have this in your home, you need it. Pick up a bottle next time you're at the drug or grocery store. You'll be glad you did--it's a great thing to have on hand, and it has a long shelf life. I will repurchase.

This product is so versatile. It dried out & got rid of my rash when nothing else would, not cortizone cream, or any other rash cream. It also stopped the itching, cortisone and other anti-itch creams didn't even almost stop the itching.
Best thing of all, it dries out pimples/breakouts. I was using toothpaste & sometimes rubbing alcohol to dry them out but it left them red and irritated, & made them scab up. Even tea tree oil left them red. This is gentle on them and doesn't make them red or pop, it just dries them out.
I love that the formula dries and isn't greasy. No other product, or any that I know of, dries out rashes, pimples, etc. Even tea tree oil doesn't dry them out half as good as calamine lotion. It's reasonably priced too. Be careful it's very thin and can get messy.

This is an old-school remedy for anything itchy, red, and broken out.....and it’s great as a primer for oily areas. I’m 51 and have been using Calamine Lotion since I was a teenager. My skin is dry as a bone nowadays, but I will still use this product for the occasional itchies (especially winter skin). Calamine lotion is a must have in my skin and makeup arsenals.👍🏼

This is a great spot treatment for acne. My mom told me about this, she used this when she was a teenager and was too poor to buy BP treatments. Instead of irritating the crap out of your blemishes like BP does, it dries but soothes them away. For really nasty cysts I first apply a layer of Mario Badescu buffering lotion which is basically sulfur and zinc. After that dries I apply the calamine. However, the calamine does leave a pink spot so this is best used at night or at home.

very good product for spots and pimples, I use it overnight. helps to calm the redness on the spot and heals it quicker.

I bought this because of reviews on MUA and it really does work!!!! I have a really bad habit of picking at any blemishes I have (trying so hard to quit) and yesterday I felt a bit one brewing under the skin on my cheek. I tried squeezing it once which obviously was a bad idea and made it red and inflamed. To stop myself I took a q tip and put some calamine on it and left it overnight. The results in the morning were amazing!! The swelling Went down completely and the redness reduced 90%. I am so pleased with the results. Plus you only need a tiny bit of product and the bottle is huge so for $3 Canadian a bottle will last you forever.

I will say though, I’ve seen a lot of reviews about putting this on a popped pimple and I do not advise it unless you’re okay with having a pink spot on your face until the scab heals. I found putting it on acne scabs only made me want to pick them more because the pink product gets soaked into the scab and stays even after washing. Definitely an HG product for those pimples that are at the beginning stages!