A step-by-step guide to popping a pimple
From the time we get our first pimple as preteens,
zits cause a strange amount of fascination for us: how to prevent them,
treat them, hide them when they appear. Some people even spend hours
online watching graphic pimple-popping videos (which we won't show you
here, because yikes) to satisfy their curiosity.
More: 5 Bad habits you need to break if you want clear skin
While that first landmark zit is often considered an unpleasant rite of passage that occurs right alongside teenage puberty, some dermatologists estimate that kids can start getting acne as early as 7 or 8 years old with puberty also starting at an earlier age.
Once you become a full-fledged adult, the outlook isn’t much better — the American Academy of Dermatology deems adult acne
both frustrating and common. It’s perfectly normal for adults to
continue getting pimples well into their 30s, 40s and 50s. This adult
acne may also appear even if you never experienced acne as a teen. And
because of fluctuating hormone levels, women are more susceptible to
adult breakouts than men (thank you, Mother Nature).
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More: The best essential oils for acne-prone skin
I’ve asked skin care experts to share exactly what happens underneath your skin the moment you squeeze that zit.
Before the pop
The blemish that just appeared in the mirror has actually been
brewing under the surface for quite some time — about two months
according to Dr. David E. Bank, board-certified dermatologist, author of
Beautiful Skin: Every Woman's Guide to Looking Her Best at Any Age and founder and director of The Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic & Laser Surgery
in Mount Kisco, New York. “What many people don't know is that it can
take about eight weeks from the time a pore gets blocked to the time it
erupts on the skin in the form of a pimple. In effect, by the time you
are painstakingly applying topical products to a pimple that has broken
out on your skin, you are about eight weeks too late,” he says.
Bank advises, “If you do see a pimple and need quick relief, start by
picking up some 10 percent benzoyl peroxide — as long as you're not one
of the 5 percent of the population who is allergic to it — and apply it
two to three times a day. No other product can beat the potent drying,
exfoliating and antibacterial effects of it, often found in Clearasil
and Oxy-10. Save your money and avoid buying expensive ‘designer’
brands, which have less than 10 percent of this active ingredient.”
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The pop
Dr. Margarita Lolis, board-certified and fellowship-trained dermatologist
and Mohs surgeon, explains that the act of popping a pimple by applying
pressure to force the pus out through the skin essentially tears the
skin to cause trauma and inflammation. She says, “You are basically
tearing open the top layer of your skin to expel out all the pus and
debris that was trapped under the skin.”
More: What to do when your skin still thinks your a teen
It’s going to be a cold day in hell before you get a dermatologist to
sign off on pimple-popping at home, but Bank admits there is one
workaround. While Bank, like all other reputable skin care
professionals, advises against squeezing blemishes at home, he
does recommend using the right tools if you are hell-bent on doing it.
“If you feel the urge and can't resist squeezing your pimple only
do it in the most hygienic way possible. Go to your local pharmacy and
pick up a comedone extractor (translation: pimple popper or zit
extractor). This usually isn't more than $5 to $15 — they are small
metal devices with a small cup on one end and a hole in the bottom. To
begin, disinfect both the pimple and the extractor by cleaning them with
rubbing alcohol. Gently place the extractor over the pimple and
discharge the pus without scarring or driving the infection deeper into
the skin.”
“Also, an effective and quick zit-zapper is to use an ice cube.
Simply press an ice cube on a pimple for one full minute to reduce
swelling and inflammation. The cold ice cube shouldn’t touch your skin
directly, so be sure to wrap it in a soft tissue or cloth. You will
notice immediately that the pimple is smaller as the ice helps to
diminish the size of the pores by constricting the blood vessels
underneath the skin,” Bank adds.
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The post-pop & potential for scarring
If your hands have a mind of their own and the pimple has already
been popped, all hope isn’t lost yet. Lolis recommends placing a
Band-Aid over the popped pimple to limit the amount of bacteria exposure
and to keep yourself from picking. To help a pimple heal faster, she
advises, “Applying an antibiotic cream is helpful. Some pimples respond
well to injections.”
While popping and picking may be human nature, Schultz reminds us
once again to take it easy. Scarring the skin by popping a pimple too
aggressively is rare, but it can happen. He explains, “To cause an
actual scar, you need to damage the dermis, aka the second layer of
skin, and most people don’t pick deep enough (ouch!) to cause a scar.
One exception is when you squeeze a cyst, and it bursts under
the skin (instead of on the top, in which case the pus just comes out).
When the pus (oil, dead cells, bacteria) goes into the dermis or fat
layer from bursting under the skin, the inflammation from the cyst
contents, i.e., pus, can cause enough destruction of skin, resulting in
an ice pick scar or crater-shaped scar.”
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