How To Pop a Pimple: The Right Way

Everyone who has acne, whether they like to do it or not have popped their pimples. It’s advised by dermatologists that you do not pick, pop, squeeze, scratch, etc. your pimples, but sometimes it is inevitable and you absolutely have to pop them! For example, say you wake up for the first day of school only to look in the mirror and find that you have a few giant whiteheads; one smack in the middle of your forehead, one on the tip of your nose, and one bulging from your chin. If you’re a girl you can try and cover them up with makeup, but if you’re a guy you’re ultimately left with two choices… You can pop them and put some ice over the pores after to reduce the swelling and hope that the blemishes won’t be super bad… Or you can do the right thing and not lay a finger on them; the only thing though is you’ll catch everyone’s eyes on your face in the halls and in class. So I know when I’m in these desperate situations, which is quite often I always opt for the easy way out, and unfortunately pop them. Though I have learned some good skills and techniques to reduce the damage and scarring of popping pimples to very little or none at all!

• Never continue to pop and pick at the same pimple or scab over and over as this will lead to permanent scarring, but rather make sure to get it all out with one swift pop, and dab some tissue there every 30 seconds to absorb the excess blood. Then you can use some ice to reduce the redness and swelling.

• Don’t go for pre-mature pimples, which are pimples that you have to squeeze and push pretty hard to get out. These pimples are still deep in the pore and rip the skin apart when popped which can take a long time to heal and lead to scarring. If a pimple is ready to be popped it should come out fairly easy with hardly any pressure applied to it at all. Usually ones ready to be popped will have a big white/yellowish head, and will sometimes pop themselves.

• Always wash your hands and your face with a gentle cleanser, or sterilize the area on the face before popping a pimple with a pad or wipe.

• Use tissue paper, and wrap a piece over each index finger. This ensures that no bacteria or oils left on your finger will get into the open pore.

• Never squeeze! Instead gently apply pressure and push down around the pimple, and then slightly inward.

• Go from side to side, and then from up and down. This ensures that everything will come out so that it can heal properly, and so the pimple won’t come back or get infected.

• Don’t spend more than 30-60 seconds when popping a pimple, because any longer batters the skin tissue and can cause scarring.

Keep these tips in mind whenever your popping a pimple; they can save you from bad scarring! Also I’m making a video about this I’m just waiting for the prime pimple to use, so look out for it!

-jpc