“Not really”, says Lauren Taglia, MD, PhD, a dermatologist at Northwestern Medicine. “But if you must pop, wait until the pimple has been around a few days and has developed a white head, indicating there is pus near the surface. Avoid popping new pimples or those that are red or sore,” she advises.
Is It Better to Pop or Leave a Pimple? 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 typically do more harm than good to the skin. If it is absolutely necessary to remove a whitehead, it is important to be as clean as possible and avoid damaging the skin. Some general tips for whitehead removal include: Apply a warm compress or steam to the area beforehand to help open the pores.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not dirt that's trapped in your pores but old skin cells and oil. Whiteheads occur when these contents aren't exposed to the air. The 'white stuff' that comes out of a blackhead or more commonly in pimples is pus.
Pustules are a type of pimple that contains yellowish pus. They are larger than whiteheads and blackheads. Home remedies and over-the-counter creams may help treat pustules. Pustules appear either as red bumps with white centers or as white bumps that are hard and often tender to the touch.
Never pop a hard pimple, as it can lead to scars or infection, especially if not done correctly. There are some at-home methods a person can try to help with hard pimples. These include using products that contain benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, warm compresses, or ice packs.
Squeezing the sebaceous filaments can lead to unintentional harm such as scarring or inflammation. Although they help to channel the flow of oil within a given pore, allowing it to come to the surface, ingredients like salicylic or glycolic acid help to keep them clean.
Plus, if you squeeze a zit that isn't ready, it could smear all the bacteria to adjacent locations, causing the spot to flare up again.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We suggest CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser, which contains salicylic acid, an ingredient recommended by the AAD for managing whiteheads and blackheads.
Ice may help reduce redness, swelling, and pain in inflammatory-type pimples, including pustules and cysts. However, ice may have little to no effect on noninflammatory pimples, such as comedones, more commonly known as blackheads and whiteheads.
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).
"What we call the pustule is actually keeping the bacteria nice and contained," she says. When you puncture the pimple's outer skin, the gunk oozes out. If the bacteria in that gunk splatters and lands inside other pores, it can lead to more pimples.
If you do nothing, your body will naturally burst the hair follicle, which unclogs the pore where the pimple was. But we know waiting is the hardest part, so keep reading for some tips for speeding up the process—without doing extra damage.
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.
Sebaceous filaments are thin, threadlike appendages that line your sebaceous (oil) glands. They help move an oily lubricant called sebum from the glands to the surface of your skin.
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. It can also worsen inflammation, making the pimple larger, more red and more painful.
Using a cloth or tissue, keep pressure on the blemish. After one to two minutes, the bleeding should stop. Try not to touch the open wound with your bare fingers. Body oils and dirt might make matters worse and prevent the pimple from going away as quickly as it should.
"Sometimes when you remove contents from the skin and the skin is a little bit floppy, it can make noises," Lee explains in the episode.