Do Eye Drops Work On Pimples? An Optometrist & Derm Weigh In

It's not a special event if you don't have a random breakout pop up moments before, right? While this is definitely an annoying experience, it's oftentimes just a reflection of your emotional and/or hormonal well-being (stress acne is real, after all). 

In a recent TikTok video, optometrist Carly Rose, O.D., explains why using eye drops (originally posted by content creator Bree Martin) just might work for inflamed pimples, too. 

The viral hack is quite simple: You squeeze some eye drops onto a cotton swab, hold it against your pimple (don't rub it, or that may cause irritation), and watch the redness fade. Both creators use the Lumify Redness Reliever Eye Drops, which I also personally swear by. 

"Of course this is going to work—brimonidine [an active ingredient in eye drops] is a vasoconstrictor," Rose says, which means it helps to narrow blood vessels; this, in turn, will reduce redness. 

"Pimples tend to have more relaxed blood vessels and inflammation, which make them appear red," board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group Nava Greenfield, M.D., FAAD, tells mbg. By constricting the blood vessels, you can effectively dial down that inflammation.

However, Greenfield notes that this hack does actually treat the pimple itself. "It can temporarily improve the appearance of the pimple but is not really helping the pimple resolve," she notes.

Also, it's not something you should be doing every single day, or the effects might dwindle over time. "It is theoretically possible to have a sort of tachyphylaxis occurring after the active ingredient wears off, and the lesion may appear more red," Greenfield says. (Meaning, your skin may get used to the active after a few rounds.)

All of this to say: If you have a super-red pimple pop up right before a big event, this eye drop hack will help reduce the redness momentarily. Keep the eye drops with you in case the redness comes back, but don't make it a regular step in your skin care routine.