Almost everyone has stood in front of a mirror and squeezed a pimple. It feels satisfying for a moment, but popping pimples at home is one of the most common reasons a small breakout turns into a red mark or a permanent scar.
What happens when you squeeze
A pimple is a pore filled with oil, dead skin, and bacteria, surrounded by inflamed tissue. When you press on it with your fingers, the pressure does not only push the contents up. It also pushes them sideways and down into the deeper layers of the skin. The wall of the pore can break, and the inflammation spreads.
The risks
The most common results are a bigger, redder pimple, dark marks that can last for months (especially on darker skin), and in some cases pitted scars. Fingers and nails also carry bacteria, which can lead to infection.
Squeezing pimples around the nose and upper lip is especially risky, because infections in this area can spread more easily.
What professionals do differently
A trained skin therapist prepares the skin first. Steam or warm compresses soften the plug. The skin is cleaned with an antiseptic. Then sterile tools are used to apply gentle, even pressure around the pore, or a tiny opening is made so the contents can come out without force.
They also know when not to extract. Deep, painful nodules and cysts should not be squeezed at all. These are treated with medication or, in some cases, drained by a doctor.
What to do instead
Put a warm compress on the pimple for a few minutes, two or three times a day, to help it come to a head on its own. Hydrocolloid patches (pimple patches) protect the spot from your fingers and absorb fluid.
Use a spot treatment with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, and be patient. Most pimples settle within a few days if you leave them alone.
If you love watching extractions, you are not alone. The videos below show how a professional team does it safely, step by step, on clean, prepared skin.
