Why You Should Not Pop Pimples (and What to Do Instead)

Popping a pimple at home usually makes it worse. Squeezing can push the contents deeper into the skin, spread the inflammation and leave a dark mark or a scar that lasts far longer than the pimple would have. An esthetician’s extractions are different because the skin is prepared first, only the right kind of clog is removed, and the work is done cleanly.

What happens when you squeeze a pimple?

A pimple is a pore clogged with oil and dead skin, often with bacteria and inflammation involved. When you press on it with your fingers, the pressure goes in every direction, not only up and out.

• Some of the contents go deeper. The wall of the pore can break under the surface, and the inflammation spreads into the skin around it. That is why a squeezed pimple often comes back bigger and angrier the next day.
• Fingers and nails add bacteria to skin that is now open.
• Nails break the skin. A scab forms, and a scab is harder to cover than the pimple was.
• The mark outlasts the pimple. Inflamed, picked skin is more likely to leave a dark or red spot that takes weeks or months to fade, and sometimes a permanent scar.

What does an esthetician do differently?

Extractions during a facial are not a stronger version of what you would do in the bathroom mirror. A few things are different.

1. The skin is prepared. In the Deluxe Facial, extractions come after a deep cleanse with steam and an enzyme peel. Those steps soften what is in the pores, so it releases with much less pressure.
2. Only what is ready comes out. Blackheads and clogged pores sitting at the surface extract well. A deep, sore, red bump does not, and a trained esthetician leaves it alone.
3. The technique is controlled. Clean, gloved hands, gentle and even pressure, and good light at close range. If a clog does not come out easily, it is left for another visit instead of being forced.
4. The skin is calmed afterward. The Acne Facial follows extractions with high frequency, a mild current used in esthetics on breakout-prone skin, and with products that settle the skin down.

Some pinkness after extractions is normal and fades. That is the reason to book a facial about a week before an event and not the day before.

Which pimples should no one squeeze?

Deep, painful bumps under the skin with no visible head, often called cystic or nodular acne, are not something to extract at home or in a facial. Squeezing them does not reach anything, and it raises the risk of scarring. If you get these regularly, see a dermatologist. The same goes for any spot that is very swollen, hot, or getting worse instead of better.

What should you do instead of popping a pimple?

• Keep your hands off it. Most pimples flatten in a few days when they are left alone.
• Use a spot treatment. A small amount on the blemish only, not the whole face. The shop carries a Blemish Spot Treatment for this.
• Cover it with a hydrocolloid patch. These pimple patches protect the spot and, just as usefully, keep your fingers away from it.
• Cool it down. A clean cloth wrapped around ice, held on a sore bump for a minute or two, can ease swelling.
• Keep cleansing gently. Scrubbing a breakout irritates it. A mild cleanser twice a day is enough.

What if you already popped it?

It happens. Wash your hands, clean the area gently, and then leave it alone. Do not go back for a second round, and do not pick at the scab once one forms. Keep makeup off it for the rest of the day if you can.

In June, the next step matters most: wear sunscreen. Sun darkens the mark a healing pimple leaves behind, and a spot that would have faded in a few weeks can stay through the fall.

Why is this harder in summer?

Heat and humidity mean more oil and sweat, and sunscreen and sweat together sit in the pores through long days outside. More clogged pores means more temptation to pick. There is more on that in why skin breaks out more in summer.

If clogged pores are a regular thing for you, a facial with extractions clears them without the damage. At Spathetics in Effingham, Ashley does extractions as part of both the Deluxe Facial and the Acne Facial, and the current prices are on each service page. You can book online when it suits you.