Zakiya Rice, MD, assistant professor, dermatology department, Emory University School of Medicine.
Before You Pop a Pimple
When you look in the mirror and a pimple stares right back at you, you’re going to get the urge. You want to squeeze it. You really want to squeeze it. Especially since pimples show up at the worst times.
Although there’s never a good time to get a zit, they always seem to make their appearance right before a party, a special date, or a big family reunion.
So is it really that bad to pop a pimple?
What’s the Big Deal?
Think of a pimple as a little sack that holds oil, debris, and acne bacteria, says dermatologist Zakiya Rice, MD, an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
“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.
There’s another risk. Poke, pick, prick, and prod a pimple, and you can force the debris and bacteria even deeper into your skin. You may also introduce new kinds of bacteria from your finger into the zit. That can cause the pimple to become more red, inflamed, swollen and infected, and may even lead to permanent scarring.
“It’s best to let a pimple run through its life span,” Rice says.
Left alone, a blemish will heal itself in 3 to 7 days. Popped improperly, it can linger for weeks or lead to scarring.
How Pros Pop Pimples
Dermatologists and well-trained estheticians know how to do it safely. They wear gloves and lance a pimple with a sterile needle, then remove the contents with an instrument called a comedone extractor.
So, your best bet is to leave popping a pimple to the pros. But let’s face it. Sometimes, it can be tough to resist the temptation to squeeze the pus out of that bright red zit on your cheek, chin, or nose.
If you’re determined to do it, there’s a proper way, says dermatologist Cynthia Bailey, MD, of Sebastopol, CA.
1. Don’t poke too early. Wait until your pimple has a firm white head. That means the pus is close to the surface and ready to be drained.
2. Wash your hands thoroughly with warm water, soap, and a fingernail brush.
3. Sterilize a straight pin with a match or lighter. Let the pin cool, then wipe it down with rubbing alcohol. Swab the zit with alcohol and pour some on your fingers, too.
4. Dry your fingers and wrap them with a clean tissue.
5. Position your pin. Hold it parallel to the surface of your skin, and gently pierce the very tip of the zit’s white center.
6. Using your fingers, or a cotton swab, softly squeeze the pimple. Press around (not on) the white tip of the zit. If the pus doesn’t come out easily, the pimple isn’t ready to be popped. Stop!
7. Apply more alcohol (it will sting) or a very small amount of bacitracin ointment to the now-deflated blemish.
The Make-Up Alternative
Instead of squeezing a zit, you could hide it with makeup. Choose a cover-up that’s “noncomedogenic,” Rice says. That means it won’t block pores.
You won’t need much. “Less is more when it comes to covering up a blemish,” she says.
Hollywood makeup artist Tasha Reiko-Brown agrees. “When you’re trying to hide a pimple, your aim is to take away the redness, not flatten it out,” she says. “If you keep piling on layers of makeup, you’ll be creating a little mountain. It may not be a red mountain, but it will still be bigger and more noticeable than when you started out.”
When Brown needs to hide a zit on a famous client, she uses a concealer that matches their skin tone or foundation in a dry, not creamy, formula. These generally come in pots or sticks.
Though she generally uses her fingers to apply makeup, she picks up a flat brush with short bristles when she’s covering a zit. “That way I can get the concealer right where I need it without leaving a fingerprint behind,” she says. Blend the concealer beyond the borders of the blemish.
If you find yourself facing the “to pop or not to pop” dilemma every day or week, talk to your doctor or a dermatologist about ways to manage your breakouts.
Show Sources
Zakiya Rice, MD, assistant professor, dermatology department, Emory University School of Medicine.
Cynthia Bailey MD, dermatologist, Advanced Skin Care and Dermatology, Sebastopol, Calif.
Tasha Reiko-Brown, makeup artist, Los Angeles.
Pimple popping: Should you do it?
Although it might feel good to pop a pimple, dermatologists advise against 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. In this article, we explain what to do and what not to do.
In general, noninflamed acne blemishes are the only type that a person should ever consider popping at home.
Noninflamed acne includes different types of comedones, which form when plugs of excess oil and dead skin cells become trapped in hair follicles. Examples include blackheads, which are open pores with a black or dark-colored plug on the surface, and whiteheads, which are small bumps with a yellow or white center. Whiteheads form when blocked pores close.
These blemishes are close to the surface of the skin, so it does not usually require much intervention to get the contents out.
The only whiteheads that are suitable to pop are those that look as though they are almost ready to burst on their own.
Although people can pop some noninflamed whiteheads and blackheads if they take the necessary precautions, they should never try to pop or extract inflamed acne. This type of acne is deeper in the skin and may be more likely to cause scarring and infection if a person tries to squeeze it.
Forms of inflamed acne include :
- Papules: Red, purple, or brown bumps that do not have a whitehead
- Pustules: Bumps that have a white or yellow center of pus with red, purple, or brown skin around the edges
- Nodules: Swollen, painful, hard lumps deep in the skin with no whitehead
- Cysts: Swollen, painful lumps that tend to be red, brown, or purple and soft to the touch
A person with these types of blemishes should contact their dermatologist. Some dermatologists can perform an extraction in their office with specialized instruments and sterile procedures. They may also offer cortisone injections, which can help shrink nodules or cysts and relieve some of the pain and pressure.
Cleanliness and being gentle are the two most important rules when a person tries to pop a blackhead or whitehead.
Popping a whitehead
If the pimple looks ready to pop, there are some steps to take for safety:
- Wash the hands thoroughly with soap and water for 30 seconds and then dry them with a clean towel.
- Wash the face with a normal facial cleanser.
- Use an exfoliating product with alpha hydroxy or beta hydroxy acid.
- Use a cotton ball to apply rubbing alcohol to the area of the pimple.
Once the area is clean, a person may take the following steps to pop a whitehead:
- Apply a clean, warm washcloth to the pimple for up to 5 minutes. Doing this can help soften the skin and allow the contents to come out more easily.
- Sterilize a small needle with rubbing alcohol.
- Poke the center of the whitehead gently with the needle. In some cases, this is enough to allow the whitehead to drain.
- If the contents do not come out, wrap tissues or cotton pads around the tips of fingers.
- With padded fingers, gently push down and inward to apply pressure to the whitehead and encourage the contents to come out.
- If gentle pressure does not achieve results, stop squeezing. The pimple may not be ready to pop.
It is important to avoid using the fingernails, as they may puncture the skin, creating a skin injury and spreading bacteria.
Extracting a blackhead
Blackheads are different than whiteheads as the pore is already open at the top. Therefore, emptying a blackhead requires a different strategy.
- Wash the face and hands in the same way as above and use an exfoliating product with alpha hydroxy or beta hydroxy acid.
- Apply a warm, clean washcloth to the area for 5 minutes.
- Use the fingers to press gently inward and down toward the blackhead.
- Avoid squeezing too close to the blackhead, as this can make it harder to extract. Instead, start farther away from it and move the fingers around in a clock-like motion to extract it from different angles.
- Do not use the fingernails. Trim the nails short or place cotton pads or tissues on the fingertips to protect the skin from injury.
Another option is to use a blackhead extractor, although some experts state that these are only safe when dermatologists use them. These tools are usually metal and have a small open loop at the end.
People can follow these steps to use a loop-style blackhead extractor:
- Center the loop over the blackhead.
- Press down on the blackhead.
- If the plug does not pop out, use a sliding motion while pressing the loop to encourage the blackhead to come out.
- If this motion does not remove the contents, stop. The blackhead may not be ready to come out. Alternatively, it could be a sebaceous filament, which is not a blackhead but has a similar appearance.
Acne can cause both physical scarring and emotional or mental distress. If a person has persistent acne that does not clear up with over-the-counter treatments, such as benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, they should see a dermatologist.
A person should see a dermatologist if they have inflamed acne, which can include large pimples or painful cysts. They should never try to pop or extract this type of acne, as doing so can cause pain, infection, and permanent skin damage.
People who frequently pick at acne or have an uncontrollable urge to pick their skin should also see a dermatologist. They may have a condition known as acne excoriée.
A dermatologist can prescribe specialized prescription medications that can help clear acne and prevent further scarring or skin damage. They may also offer in-office procedures, such as professional extractions and skin peels.
Treatment from a dermatologist may also help a person gain self-confidence.
Dermatologists generally do not recommend that people try to pop or extract their acne. In many cases, a dermatologist can prescribe oral or topical treatments to help prevent acne. They may also perform pimple extractions in office or administer a cortisone shot to shrink a large pimple.
However, using clean and gentle techniques, people can pop certain noninflamed whiteheads and blackheads at home.
If acne is persistent or is leading to scarring, a person should see a dermatologist.
Last medically reviewed on June 15, 2020
How we reviewed this article:
Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
- Acne: Diagnosis and treatment. (n.d.).
https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/acne/derm-treat/treat - Acne excoriée. (n.d.).
https://www.aocd.org/page/AcneExcoriee - Acne: Overview. (2019).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279211/ - Lucas, C. (n.d.). Acne in skin of color.
https://skinofcolorsociety.org/dermatology-education/dermatology-educationacne-in-skin-of-color/ - Pimple popping: Why only a dermatologist should do it. (n.d.).
https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/acne/skin-care/popping
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