Dopamine: Against dermatological advice, many people pick at their skin routinely. This habit releases dopamine, the feel-good hormone. As a result, popping and picking—or watching someone else do it—brings on a cathartic rush of satisfaction.
Popping pimples releases dopamine
A lot of people find popping pimples satisfying. After feeling and hearing that “pop”, some people get an immediate sensation of pleasure and relief. That's because dopamine — the happy-hormone — is released when you feel a sense of accomplishment.
That moment of blemish-popping releases dopamine, the feel-good hormone, which directly affects your emotions, as well as your sensation to pleasure and pain. Experts explain there's a cycle of anxiety or arousal before the act and a sense of relief after, making blemish-popping addictive and particularly hard to stop.
“Some people may get a sense of control and satisfaction that they are 'treating' themselves. They are cleaning or ridding their body of something that doesn't belong,” says Dr. Cline. “Others might enjoy the grotesque aspect of extractions and feel a bit of bizarre fascination when they see the outburst of pus.”
A: Although it's tempting, squeezing blackheads with your fingers is a bad idea. That can cause trauma to the skin and lead to hyperpigmentation or scarring.
It's actually completely normal for you to have some holes initially after removing blackheads. This is because the dirt and debris filling the pore is suddenly gone, leaving a small space.
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 may happen that you wake up one morning and notice the pimple is gone. Or you may notice the pimple draining.
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.
How do you get rid of deep blackheads? Deep blackheads should be removed by a medical professional — usually a dermatologist or medical aesthetician. They use a small tool with rigid metal loops on the ends (blackhead or comedo extractor) to apply even pressure to your blackheads.
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.
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.
Suozzi recommends fighting the urge to pop any pimples. “If you squeeze your blackheads, you can cause the follicle to rupture and induce the formation of an inflammatory lesion, or cyst,” she says. In other words, you can transform your blackhead into a much more serious skin condition.
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.
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.
Blackheads, or open comedos, are clogged pores that are filled with dead skin cells and oil, not dirt or grime as myth may suggest. The blackish portion of a blackhead — aka the sesame seed — is due to the oxidation of the dead skin cells and oil when exposed to air.
Nodular acne forms when a type of bacteria called P. acnes that live on the skin get trapped inside the clogged pore. This may lead to an infection that affects the deeper layers of the skin. The infection can cause inflammation in the deep skin layers, creating hard nodules.
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.
Milia are hard, raised cysts that form under the outer layer of skin. They are white to yellowish in color. They can look like a grain of sand or a hard, milky capsule. Milia are usually small, around 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter.
Rheumatoid nodules are small bumps under the skin, located in pressure point areas such as the elbow, back of the hand, or back of the heel. These bumps may be as small as a grain of rice or as large as a golf ball. But they are usually not painful, and they tend to come and go.
They usually go away without treatment. To get rid of them more quickly, make sure your skin doesn't get too dry. Never scratch or pick at a keratin plug. Trying to remove it or pop it can irritate your skin and lead to infection.