Tips on how to pop a pimple aren’t hard to come by.
Apply gentle pressure while pullingawayfrom the pimple with tissue- or cotton-wrapped fingers.
Afterwards, clean the area again and apply an antiseptic.
Katleho Seisa / Getty Images
How to Pop a Pimple
Popping pimples should always be a last resort.
If you’re going to pop a pimple, do it safely.
Remember that when you squeeze a pimple, you’re able to damage your skin.
The correct way to pop a pimple with your fingers depends on whether it is a whitehead or blackhead.
Doing so can lead to scarring.
Blackheads
It’s safer to extract a blackhead than an inflamed pimple.
Theres less risk of infection and scarring, but you still need to treat your skin gently.
You may want to try removing a blackhead right after a shower or bath.
This will make it easier to coax them from the pore.
Using Comedone Extractors
A comedone extractor is a small metal tool that estheticians use to remove blackheads.
It’s easy to apply too much pressure and bruise your skin.
If you’ve already popped a pimple, don’t attempt to squeeze any more out of it.
The best approach with a pimple is to leave it alone.
Though it might not be the fastest method, it reduces the risk of skin damage.
Popping a pimple can lead to infection, scarring, and worsened acne.
If you squeeze apimple, you might get some pus out of it.
But the problem is that the squeezing pushes the pimple both up and down.
It’s not just the pus that you’re moving; youre also moving the core.
A pimple’s core holds a plug of dead skin cells andsebum, a natural skin oil.
When you squeeze, you push the plug deeper into thepore.
The pressure from popping a pimple can cause the wall of the pore to burst.
This happens below the skin surface, where it’s possible for you to’t see it.
The infection can then spread in thedermislayer of the skin.
Summary
It’s best to leave pimples alone to heal.
Attempting to pop one may prolong your breakout and lead to scarring and infection.
The pimple-popping technique will depend on what kind of pimple you have and what stage it’s in.
American Academy of Dermatology Association.Pimple popping: Why only a dermatologist should do it.
Pannu A, Saroch A, Sharma N.Danger triangle of face and septic cavernous sinus thrombosis.Visual Diagnost Emerg Med.
2020 Jun;82(6):1576. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2020.02.010.
].J Am Acad Dermatol.
2016;74(5):945-73.e33.
doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037
Cao H, Yang G, Wang Y, et al.Complementary therapies for acne vulgaris.
Cochrane Skin Group, ed.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
2015;2016(1).
2016;74(5):945-973. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037
