You may be tempted to pop this unwanted guest, but it's not a good idea. Contrary to what pimple popping videos may show, squeezing your skin to extract the contents of a pimple — a mixture of oil, dead skin and bacteria — can cause scarring and infection.
``That can cause the pimple to become more red, inflamed, swollen and infected.'' So basically, picking does a hell of a lot more harm than good. It just makes breakouts worse and can cause more spots to pop up. On top of that, scarring is more likely to happen if you pick. Hard no's all around.
Rule # 1: Never try to pop a pimple! I know, it's so tempting. But the only thing we achieve by messing with pimples is to make them even redder and more painful. Even worse, when we aggressively pinch or squeeze a pimple, it can damage the skin around it.
Popping a pimple can cause infection and scarring, and it may make the pimple more inflamed and noticeable. It also delays the natural healing process. Due to this, it is usually best to leave pimples alone. A person should only try to pop certain types of pimples in a particular way.
Only a medical professional can effectively treat this type of severe acne and help you avoid scars. Never pick at, squeeze or try to pop an acne nodule. Doing so can make the nodule more painful and increase your risk of severe scarring.
Causes of a hard pimple
Excess oil on the skin: When the body produces lots of sebum, or facial oil, dead skin cells can stick together and block up the pores. This increases the chances of developing a hard pimple.
You may be tempted to pop this unwanted guest, but it's not a good idea. Contrary to what pimple popping videos may show, squeezing your skin to extract the contents of a pimple — a mixture of oil, dead skin and bacteria — can cause scarring and infection.
We know it's hard, but resist the urge to pick or pop the blemish, as it can worsen the redness and cause additional damage. Instead, allow it to heal as naturally as possible.
Pustules: These are pus-filled pimples that look like whiteheads surrounded by discolored rings. Picking or scratching your pustules can cause scarring. Cysts: These are pimples filled with a thick, yellow or white fluid composed of dead white blood cells, small pieces of tissue and bacteria (pus).
Your body can gradually break down pus and reabsorb its components. That's why small accumulations of pus (like in a pimple) often don't need treatment.
Hard pimples are the result of dead skin cells or bacteria getting under the skin. Hard pimples are deep, often large, and occasionally pus-filled. They can be one of the most difficult types of pimples to get rid of. Find out more about hard pimples here.
It's tempting, but popping or squeezing a pimple won't necessarily get rid of the problem. Squeezing can push bacteria and pus deeper into the skin, which might cause more swelling and redness. Squeezing also can lead to scabs and might leave you with permanent pits or scars.
Don't Pick the Pimple
Don't pick at the scab. Let your skin start the healing process without being interrupted.
But she adds that in her twenty years as a dermatologist, she hasn't encountered a cavernous sinus infection—let alone one caused by a pimple. “This situation of death being caused by popping a pimple in this area is exquisitely rare,” she agrees.
Pustules are what most people think of as a zit: Red and inflamed with a white head at the center. The stuff you squeeze out of them is pus, which contains dead white blood cells.
Avoid picking or squeezing the popped breakout to let your skin heal naturally. If you notice any signs of potential infection like redness, increased pain, pus, or inflammation surrounding the blemish, contact a healthcare professional immediately.
The answer is isn't all that simple. Ice doesn't necessarily help clear up acne or pimples — particularly if you're suffering from cystic and nodular acne — but it can help inflammation. This works because acne is an inflammatory condition meaning that it causes flare-ups that contribute to swelling and redness.
Why Do They Come Back? Typically, patients who have pimples that come back in the same spot over and over again are suffering from an underlying problem with bacteria in the skin. When you have too much bacteria in one area, and you aren't treating it, you won't ever fully get rid of the pimple.
Similar to not picking at or popping a pimple, a person should not pick the scab on the pimple. Picking at the scab can reopen the wound, which can allow bacteria or other foreign bodies to enter. If this occurs, the pimple can become infected.
Popping pimples can be bad for your skin, leading to inflammation, infection, discoloration, more breakouts, and scarring. It can damage the underlying tissue of your skin and leave your complexion looking worse.
Can I pop a blind pimple? Never try to pop or squeeze a blind pimple. Doing so pushes the oil and bacteria deeper, causing more inflammation and increasing the risk of infection.
You can cause a blood-filled pimple by damaging blood vessels around an existing pimple. This often happens when you pop, squeeze, pick or over-exfoliate a pimple. Blood-filled pimples usually heal on their own if you prevent further damage and keep the area clean.
Both zit and pimple refer to the same thing: a small, red, swollen spot (or “inflamed elevation,” if you're fancy) on the skin. Zit is generally considered an informal or slangy synonym of pimple, which itself is less formal, medically speaking, than either papule or pustule.