The Acne-Coverage Hack That Only Uses Eye Drops - No Makeup Required

If you deal with acne, your go-to move is probably relying on a solid foundation with a high level of coverage. But some pimples just seem to have a vendetta with how intense they are; even the best quality foundations can't conceal the reddest zits completely.

While there are plenty of things you can do to heal acne and breakouts, from using medication to spot topical treatments like tea tree oil, very few of these remedies work overnight. When you have a blaring pimple or cluster of pimples that you need to get rid of in a matter of hours, there's still one thing you can do to minimize their appearance under your makeup (if you choose to wear makeup at all — with this hack, you don't have to). 

TikTok user Bree Martin posted a video to the platform that shows her favorite hack for hiding pimples without foundation or concealer. She uses Lumify eye drops to take the redness out of her zit so she doesn't have to cover it with anything, and it actually works. Here's exactly how to follow Martin's acne-covering technique, and what the experts have to say about it.

In her TikTok video, Bree Martin takes a small amount of the Lumify eye drops and adds it to a Q-tip. She then dabs the Q-tip on the pimple, making sure to adequately cover it. The video cuts to "about a minute" later, and the formerly bright red pimple on Martin's cheek has dramatically reduced in vibrancy. You can still see the pimple mark after the Lumify has dried, but Martin explains that this is because her pimple is "drying up" and it's not a fresh zit, which the hack works the best on.

Lumify and other similar eye drops, such as Visine, are used to take the redness out of the eye. So in the same way, they reduce the redness in pimples and make them less noticeable. In the video, Martin also uses the Lumify on other red areas of her face, including around her nostrils.

Although Martin's video refers to covering a pimple with "literally no makeup," you could use this trick in conjunction with foundation to really make the blemish invisible.

While not every TikTok beauty hack is legit or doctor-approved, the Lumify pimple trick appears to be genuine, and more importantly, safe. According to Dr. Papantoniou at Simply Dermatology, eye drops that are specifically designed to reduce redness are an effective remedy for pimple visibility. In particular, look for products that contain tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride. While Lumify does not list this as an ingredient, it does contain brimonidine tartrate and is known to work on red eyes. The sentiment is echoed by dermatologist Dr. Julie Russak, who told Women's Health that brimonidine "constricts the blood vessels and decreases redness."

If you'd prefer not to use eye drops on your pimples, you can achieve a similar effect by icing the pimple for around 30 seconds. Don't apply the ice directly onto the skin; wrap it in a cloth and only press it gently against the pimple. Repeat this a few times and you may notice that the ice has cleared up some of the inflammation that is making your pimple red.

Another proven method to decrease pimple visibility is to crush up an aspirin and apply the powder onto the redness. "Aspirin contains salicylic acid, which is a tried and true ingredient for fighting acne," Dr. Rhonda Klein of Modern Dermatology told Women's Health. "It can help unclog and dry the affected area, while also reducing swelling and redness."