Zoe Foster Blake got a cold sore and showed us how to kill it, fast
Because cold sores SUCK
Do you know what’s really bloody annoying? Cold sores. You know the way they just decide to set up camp on your lip and chill for like, two to four weeks? SO not cool. Not only do they feel tingly/stingy/painful, but they wreak a whole load of havoc on your confidence and can make you feel like an actual leper.
The key is to get in as early as possible and hit them with hard-working treatments that’ll *actually* work. What treatments do we speak of? We hear you ask. Well, our friend Zoe Foster Blake has just dished out two cold sore-fighting gems that’ll do the job, fast.
She recently took to Instagram Stories, documenting her freshly-brewing cold sore. She wrote, “OMG SO CUTE! A cold sore to reward me for a massive month. #blessed.”
Isn’t it always the way?
Her go-to treatment? She swears by anti-viral tablets called Famciclovir Once (you can pick them up from the chemist). These will help reduce the time that your cold sore hangs around for – but only if you take it ASAP! Any later and they might not work.
“Get them too? Take this ASAP – no time to waste not a friggin second,” she writes. “I always keep these in house. And in travel bag. Ya gotta take them REAL fast. First sign of red or tingle. (Taking them a day in probably won’t help.)”
She also uses Compeed Total Care Invisible Cold Sore Patches, placing them directly onto the cold sore as soon as she feels tingling. “These are critical,” she writes. “Keep stocked up. I keep singles in my wallet always. Wear them non-stop (change every 6-8 hours; wear overnight) til it has completely gone. Lock that sh*t down. Keep things healing, and hygienic and non-contagious. SHOW IT WHO IS BOSS.”
Before placing it onto her cold sore, Zoe says she cuts the patch to size because “the standard circle shape is dumb and too big and obvious”.
Her final tip? If you feel a cold sore coming on but don’t have these tablets or patches handy, Zoe says dabbing nail polish remover onto the area will also do the trick. “Carefully press a cotton pad with nail polish remover on it onto the sore. It will dry it out and slow the wound.”
Heck, we almost want a cold sore just to get in on this action! Almost.
Want more beauty tips and tricks from Zoe Foster Blake? Find out her top skin care advice.
Do you suffer from cold sores? Tell us about your go-to treatment in the comment section below.
Main and inset images:@zoetheysay
Erin Docherty is a Beauty Writer for BEAUTYcrew, Beauty Editor for Women's Health magazine and a Grooming Writer for Men's Health magazine. She has a keen interest in cosmeceutical skin care and is currently working on minimising her 9-step skin care routine – because ain’t nobody got time for that. When she’s not writing about the latest beauty news, or applying copious amounts of serum, you can find her spending all her money in Sephora.
