For anyone who struggles with breakouts (which is most everyone at one point or another) picking at your skin or popping pimples is certainly a common practice many fall into. For many, it’s the initial instant gratification that you eliminated the active breakout. But the reality is, you’re left with a lot of post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and even serious scarring in some cases over time.
Especially those-like myself- who have suffered with cystic acne, attempting to “pop” a cystic breakout can result in the spread of bacteria (regardless of how hygienic you think you’re being), redness, scabbing, and of course serious ice pick scarring in some cases.
Here’s some tips to break your skin picking habit and actually heal your skin while irradicating the breakout a safely and efficiently as possible:
- Step away from the magnifying mirror
I think many can relate to the moment we decide to over analyze our faces on a near microscopic level. Meticulously inspecting every pore through a far too well-lit x10 magnified mirror, seeing things the naked eye would never pick up on and then going to town trying to destroy the perceived problem. But the reality is, nobody including yourself can see every congested pore on your face. Furthermore, although we are our worst critics and typically hone in on the things about our face we are insecure about, most people analyze your face as a whole and therefore do not pick up on your “imperfections”.
- LED light therapy in place of pimple popping
Have a really red irritated break out? Try calming the inflammation and killing bacteria with a blue/red LED device. Although many are an investment, it will save you the cost of undergoing expensive cosmetic treatments or purchasing multiple products in an attempt to resurface the potentially scarring or reduce hyperpigmentation you could cause. My favorite at home acne LED device is by Lightstim, and it’s also very convenient to travel with. If holding a device to your face isn’t appealing, other reputable brands like Omnilux LED make face masks for acne as well.
- Spot treat the breakout
Spot treating the breakout not only gets active ingredients directly to the site to work on minimizing the breakout, but in some cases with more opaque treatments, it covers the breakout (the old out of sight out of mind concept) making it less likely for you to go in and start squeezing. Some of my favorite spot treatments include Naturiums 8% Sulfur spot treatment, Paula’s choice BHA 9, and Murad’s deep relief acne treatment. They all work wonderfully at minimizing inflammation and redness of the breakout.
- Hydrocolloid Patches (cover the breakout)
A similar concept to covering the breakout with a spot treatment. Hydrocolloid patches minimize the chances of you going in for a squeeze, they also draw the contents of the breakout to the surface and trap it in the patch, healing the pimple faster. I do find that these work better on breakouts that are closer to the surface, whereas spot treatments typically work better at absorbing into the skin and helping deeper spots.
- Put down the extractions tools
Many individuals believe that the use of extraction tools is more hygienic and therefore safer to use for popping pimples. However, in untrained hands that isn’t necessarily the case. You can often apply far too much pressure resulting in more skin damage. Should you be interested in extractions, it’s best to seek a professional.
Hope this helps! Remember that acne is completely normal, and most people suffer from breakouts at one time or another. Sadly, these days due to social media, filters, and photo editing apps we begin to feel alone when skin issues arise. Just remember, there is no such thing as perfection and much of what you see isn’t reality.
