How To Correctly Pop A Pimple

Now, I know what you are thinking, we are always told to leave a pimple alone.  To let nature take its course, allow your skin to

heal and force yourself to tolerate the unsightly legion.  While that is very easy to say, it is much harder to walk into that important business presentation or attend a first date with a puss-colored zit on full display.  While we should all do our best to wait until a pimple is “prime” to pop, there are many cases where popping the pimple is actually therapeutic in the healing process.  For those of you who have trouble resisting the urge to squeeze your zits and pop your pimples, you should be sure that you are doing it correctly, as to cause no further damage that could ultimately results in acne scars.

The first thing to do once you realize that there is no stopping you from popping this pimple before you leave the house is to slow down, take a deep breath and realize that there is a right way and a wrong way to do this.  The right way is a simple process that can actually help speed healing, the wrong way can result in acne scars and cystic acne, both of which are quite unsightly.  A deep breath allows you to step away from the mirror and prepare to do this correctly.

Ok, let’s start by cleansing both our hands and our face.  I am not asking for a complete facial scrub here, but a gentle cleansing and light pat down.  You want your skin to be clean, and do not need to further irritate the lesion causing additional breakouts.  Once you are clean, it’s time to clean a needle.  The best way to do this is with rubbing alcohol, it is usually handy and highly effective.

Now that you have sterilized a needle, gently prick the surface of the pimple or zit itself.  This does not need to be deep but must break the surface.  You are trying to provide an outlet for the infectious fluid to release through, so be sure to precise.  Once the surface has been pricked, you are ready to actually do the popping.

We all get a bit excited about this part of the process, no need to lie.  But while watching pimples popping can be intriguing, you must concentrate on what you are doing, and not whether or not it reaches the mirror!  Wrap your fingers in tissue, just a bit, and apply your fingers to either side of the pimple.  Press in both a downward and inward motion, equally with both fingers.  This should not need to be excessive force, if the pimple does not pop easily it is not yet ready and should be left alone.  That’s right, walk away, leave it alone.  If it does pop, squeeze steadily until all puss is gone and a clear liquid or blood appears.  Once you see either one, stop squeezing, you are done.

The process is actually very easy, but you would be surprised by the number of mistakes that people make.  It is very common to over work, or squeeze excessively on pimples or lesions of pimples.  This overworking of the skin can result in inflamed, tissue that develops into scar tissue leaving you with a permanent reminder of your mistake.  While popping pimples is not the best way to handle acne, it is a reality of life.  But just because we are going to pop them, does not give us an excuse to turn it into a sport!!  Take the time to follow these simple steps, you will accomplish your goal of removing the unsightly breakout and you will have taken no risk in long term damage.