Since the skin behind the ear mostly covers the cartilages, it can be quite painful when pimples occur in the area. In most cases, pimples occur behind the ears are the blind pimples—pimples without a visible white top of puss. Instead, they look like fresh colored bumps which can be obvious only when you touch the skin lightly.

Blind pimples commonly occur behind the ears, on the nose, and all over the chin. Despite the absence of the white top, these pimples are commonly more painful than the ordinary pimples with the white top of puss.

Causes of pimples behind ears

Similar to pimples occurring in some body areas, pimples behind ears are caused by blocked skin pores combined with sebum overproduction. With dirt, these two risk factors create a perfect environment for skin bacteria growth, resulting in pimples and acne breakout. Of course, there are some other causes contributing how prone someone is to pimples and acne’s, such as pregnancy, pubertal growth spurt, and stress.

How to get rid of a pimple behind ears

Although pimples behind ears are not as visible as those on facial skin, for instance, it does not mean you should care less about it. Not only are these pimples, they might also lead to severe skin infection when not properly treated. Some methods and remedies are effective in getting rid of these pimples without popping it. Here those are to take a look.

1. Hot compress

Hot compress application is a natural and easiest remedy for pimples behind ears you can do anytime at home.

How to apply: soak a cotton ball or small towel into a bowl of warm or slightly hot water and apply that damp cotton or towel onto the pimples you feel or see behind the ears. Do this regularly and wash the affected area with a gentle face wash to get rid of exposed dirt.

How it works: hot water compress helps to widen and open skin pores to enable the dirt to get out. In pimples with no white tip, this compress helps to dry it out, so that white puss can come out to the skin surface, fastening healing process.

2. Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil can be bought in a form of its pure oil—which can be harsh for very sensitive skin, and a facial wash.

How to apply: if you are using a pure tea tree oil, make sure your skin is not allergic to it. Dab the oil using your fingertip directly onto the pimples. If your skin is very sensitive, mix few drops of the oil with water and dab it onto the pimples using a cotton ball or swab.

How it works: tea tree oil is a strong anti-bacterial agent, which helps killing bacteria causing pimples and acne. Applying the oil regularly will hasten the healing process and reduce black spots which can be caused by pimples.

3. Antibiotic or citric acid ointment

Antibiotic ointment or ointment enriched with citric acid from citrus can be easily found in the drugstore. The citrus juice which is good for healing pimples also occurs in other products, such as facial wash and acne gel.

How to apply: dab the ointment directly after washing the hands, or wash the face and neck with citrus-based facial wash gently.

How it works: citric acid helps killing bacteria by changing the environment into the acidic one, so that the germs won’t be able to live.

Basic care to help to heal pimples behind ears

1. Avoid touching pimples and do not attempt to burst it, since it will cause dark spots after the problem heals.
2. Minimize stress and avoid spicy foods, as they tend to slow down the healing process and instead, trigger new pimple occurrence.
3. Wash the hair regularly and thoroughly, as dirty hair leads to bacteria growth, which may cause a pimple and acne problems around the ears.
4. Change your pillow case often, as bacteria might reside on the case and move into your skin, causing irritation which leads to pimple growth.
5. Put your pillow under direct sun regularly. This will help killing germs which are already existing in it.