Should you pop pimples?

Risks of Popping a Pimple

Popping a pimple is squeezing it to force out what's inside. It means pressure goes down and sideways, not only out. The risks of popping are these four.

Pushes bacteria deeper

Squeezing pushes pus, oil and bacteria deeper into the skin, which raises inflammation. Bacteria from your hands can add an infection.

Causes permanent scars

Picking raises the risk of acne scars and dark spots, more so in darker skin. Dark spots can last a year or longer. The flat brown or purple mark a squeezed pimple leaves is not a scar yet; the guide to acne dark spots explains how long those take to fade.

Delays healing

Picked acne takes longer to clear. Left alone, most single spots heal in under two weeks; deeper papules and nodules can last for months.

What a pimple is

A pimple is a clogged pore that bacteria have inflamed. It means the bump is swelling around trapped oil and dead skin. The white stuff in a pimple is pus, which gives a pustule its white or yellow center.

A blackhead is a keratin plug a dermatologist can press out; a whitehead is closed and has to be punctured to empty. Blackheads, pustules and cysts each behave differently under pressure; the field guide to types of pimples sets them side by side. Not sure which kind you have? A photo analysis can tell you.

Better Alternatives

Better alternatives are ways to calm a pimple without breaking the skin. It means the spot heals from the inside.

Use a pimple patch

A hydrocolloid patch covers and protects the spot, soaks up oil and keeps fingers off. Medicated patches can irritate when used with other acne products.

Apply a spot treatment

A thin layer of adapalene, azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid.

Use a warm compress

For deep ones: a clean, warm, damp washcloth for 10 to 15 minutes, three times a day.

Apply ice

Eases pain and inflammation. Wrap it in a cloth; never put it straight on skin.

If you already popped it

1. Stop squeezing, even if more comes out.
2. Wash your hands and rinse the spot gently.
3. Cover it with a hydrocolloid patch.
4. Hands off until it closes.
5. Watch for infection: hot, swollen, red skin, fever or red streaks mean see a doctor.

In a small study of 36 adults with laser wounds (not pimples), covered wounds healed in about 7 days, against 12 uncovered.

What a dermatologist does instead

Dermatologist removal is done with sterile tools in a clinic. It means the pimple is emptied safely, at the right time.

Extraction

Sterile tools clear blackheads and whiteheads.

Cortisone injection

For one big nodule or cyst; it flattens most within 48 to 72 hours.

Incision and drainage

A sterile needle or blade opens a large cyst and empties it.

Deep bumps that come back in the same spot on the chin every month follow their own pattern; read about acne on chin before you reach for a needle.

When to see a doctor

Seeing a doctor is the right call when a pimple shows signs of infection or keeps coming back.

• Signs of skin infection: heat, swelling, spreading redness
• A lump on the face with fever
• Deep, painful lumps that keep coming back
• Scars forming
• You can't stop picking: tell your doctor