You will feel the need when you glance in the mirror and see a pimple popping staring back at you. It should be squeezed. You want to embrace it, especially since spots appear when least expected.
Although zits may emerge at any moment, they appear just before a party, a particular occasion, or a significant family gathering.
Is popping a pimple so bad?
It is, indeed.
The Big Deal
According to dermatologist Zakiya Rice, MD, an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, a pimple is a little sack containing oil, debris, and acne-causing bacteria.
“What we call the pustule is keeping the bacteria nice and contained,” she explains. The filth seeps out when you pierce the pimple’s outer skin. More spots may appear if the bacterium in that muck splatters and enters further pores.
Another danger exists. When you probe, poke, pick, or prick a pimple popping, you might push the dirt and germs further into your skin. Additionally, new types of germs from your finger may enter the zit. That could even result in permanent scarring and make the pimple more red, inflamed, bloated, and infected.
It’s preferable to let a pimple go through its whole life cycle, advises Rice.
Blemishes will self-heal if left untreated in 3 to 7 days. If poorly popped, it may persist for days or leave scars.
How Experts Remove Acne
Dermatologists and skilled estheticians are aware of safe procedures. They use a sterile needle to lacerate a pimple while wearing gloves and a comedone extractor to extract the contents.
Therefore, it is advisable to let professionals handle pimple busting. Let’s face it, however. Resisting the urge to squeeze the pus from a bright red pimple on your face, chin, or nose might be challenging.
According to dermatologist Cynthia Bailey, MD, of Sebastopol, California, there is a legitimate approach if you’re set on doing it. Avoid poking too soon. Hold off until your zit gets a solid white head. This indicates that the pus is near the surface and prepared for drainage.
- Wash your hands thoroughly using a fingernail brush, warm water, and soap.
- Use a match or lighter to sterilize a straight pin. After letting the pin cool, clean it with rubbing alcohol. Pour some alcohol on your fingers and swab the zit with it.
- Cover your fingers with fresh tissue After drying them off.
- Set your pin in place. Holding it parallel to your skin’s surface, carefully penetrate the zit’s white center at its tip.
- Squish the zit gently with your fingers or a cotton swab. On the zit’s white tip, gently press all around it. The pimple isn’t ready to be squeezed out if the pus is challenging to remove. Stop!
- Apply a minimal quantity of bacitracin ointment or additional alcohol (it will hurt) to the now-deflated lesion.
The Make-Up Replacement
The alternative to popping a zit is to cover it up with cosmetics. Pick a concealer that is “non comedogenic,” advises Rice. This implies that it won’t clog pores.
You won’t need a lot. “Less is more when it comes to covering up a blemish,” she advises.
Tasha Reiko-Brown, a cosmetics artist in Hollywood, concurs. “Your goal when trying to conceal a pimple is to remove the redness, not flatten it out,” she explains. You’ll build a little mountain if you keep adding layers of cosmetics. Even if it isn’t a red mountain, it will still be more significant and more evident than it was before.
When Brown has to cover a pimple on a well-known client, she applies a dry, not creamy, foundation and concealer that matches their skin tone. These often come in sticks or pots.
She often uses her fingers to apply cosmetics but chooses a flat brush with small bristles to hide a pimple. She explains, “I can apply the concealer precisely where I need it without leaving a fingerprint behind. Past the blemish’s edge, blend the concealer.
Talk to your doctor or a dermatologist about controlling your breakouts if you often struggle with the “to pop or not to pop” decision.