Hi There!!
I know it’s tempting, but please, DO NOT pop that pimple!!
Today we’ll go over the two main reasons why you shouldn’t pop pimples but I’ll start by explaining how a pimple forms to begin with so that it makes sense why you shouldn’t pop the pimple
Pimples form in the hair follicle AKA your pores.
Inside your hair follicles, you'll find bacteria, sebum (oil) and dead skin cells. The bacteria is supposed to be inside the hair follicle, it's part of your skin's microbiome. The sebum is to keep your skin supple but also forms part of your skin's barrier and we have a build-up of dead skin cells throughout the month so you'll naturally find dead skin cells in there.
How pimples form is there's a build-up of dead skin cells and
oil that clog up the hair follicle. This prevents oxygen from entering that hair follicle encouraging the bacteria to grow and multiply. As the bacteria multiplies it excretes waste products which irritate the lining of the hair follicle.
This triggers an immune reaction and white blood cells rush to the area to fight the infection. Part of the immune reaction is inflammation so the area becomes red and tender. White blood cells enter the hair follicle and fight to reduce the bacterial infection and that build up in the hair follicle ends up being the pimple. The white pus you squeeze out of the pimple is your white blood cells
Don't Squeeze the Pimple!!
The danger in squeezing the pimple is yes, the pus will come out on the top of your skin but the pus could also come out inside the hair follicle as you squeeze. So it could pop on the outside and the inside. If it pops on the inside you're essentially spreading the infection to other hair follicles and you're creating new pimples.
This could also lead to scarring and dark spots (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation)
You could be rough while popping the pimple and this can also lead to scarring and pigmentation as you might not have prepped the skin properly for pimple popping
Instead of popping your pimples, stick to a good skincare routine that includes exfoliating weekly, hydrating daily and using a spot treatment on the pimples to dry them out quickly.
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