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.
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.
In general, you can gently pop a whitehead pimple once, but don't try to draw more out again later. Doing so can lead to scarring. You should never pop a pimple that does not have a whitehead or is deep under the skin. Deep inflamed acne can be due to nodular breakouts or cysts and should not be squeezed.
Popping a pimple could spread the bacteria and pus from the infected pore to surrounding pores in the area. This can cause an to spread. Popping a pimple can delay your body's natural healing process, which causes your pimple's healing to take longer.
Pockmarks, which are also called pick marks or acne scars, are blemishes with a concave shape that can look like holes or indentations in the skin. They occur when the deeper layers of the skin become damaged. As these deeper layers heal, extra collagen is produced.
If you treat your popped pimple well, it should heal within a few days.
When doing this at home, many people choose to pop pimples with a lancet needle or pin – which is not a good idea because it can cause infection if the needle or pin haven't been properly sterilized, and you might penetrate other parts of your skin, causing additional damage.
Basically, what happens if you don't pop a whitehead is that it goes away on its own, usually in 3 to 7 days.
"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.
Pustules are a type of pimple that contains yellowish pus. They are larger than whiteheads and blackheads. Pustules appear either as red bumps with white centers or as white bumps that are hard and often tender to the touch. In many cases, the skin around the pustules is red or inflamed.
What is a blind pimple? A blind pimple, also known as cystic acne, is a pimple that lives beneath the surface of your skin and doesn't come to a head. It is often in the form of a red, painful bump beneath the skin. Blind pimples are caused by oil getting trapped beneath the skin.
Do not try to pop, pick, or squeeze a cystic pimple. It may be tempting, but popping a pimple can introduce more bacteria to the pore, slow healing, drive the infection deeper into the skin, and increase the chance of scarring.
If bacteria living on the skin also become stuck in the follicle, this can cause inflammation and infection. White blood cells flow in to fight infection, and, as a result, dead white blood cells, bacteria, and other debris form pockets of pus. Pus filled pimples do not reflect an individual's cleanliness.
The most common reason behind the formation of a blood-filled pimple is accidental popping or squeezing of the regular one. So, when you squeeze or pop a pimple, it not only forces out the pus, but also damages the underlying fine blood vessels, causing them to burst. This causes your pimple to get filled with blood.
Sebum and dead skin cells in one tiny, white package. Cute! Medically, a whitehead can be called a closed comedo. (All types of pimples start as comedones.)
“I never recommend attempting to pop, pick, or poke a blind pimple—this inevitably leads to more harm than good because the pimple does not have a connection to the surface of the skin, attempting to pick it will just increase your risk of an infection or scarring,” advises Dr. Zeichner.
Do not squeeze the cyst or poke it with a needle to open it. This can cause swelling, redness, and infection. Always have a doctor look at any new lumps you get to make sure that they are not serious.
To make a warm compress, soak a clean washcloth in hot water; make sure the water isn't too hot to avoid burning your skin. Then, apply the warm compress to the pimple for 10 to 15 minutes. Do this three to four times daily until the pimple releases pus and heals. DON'T pop, squeeze or pick at the blemish.
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.
You could use a regular bandage as part of your pimple recovery kit, Dr. Jaliman said, but it will only speed up the healing process if it's applied over some sort of topical treatment, such as salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide (her go-tos for fast pimple healing).
Nodular acne is a severe type of acne. It causes hard lumps or knots (nodules) to develop deep under your skin. The nodules start below the surface and appear on the skin as red bumps.