Itchy, Irritated Skin? Find Relief That Works

How To "Pop" Acne Without Squeezing And Damaging Your Skin

13 June 2015 by Andy Hopkins

Teenagers who suffer from chronic acne are desperate to rid themselves of it. However, using your fingers to squeeze and pop a pimple, zit or blackhead can cause permanent damage to your skin. Worst of all, using your fingers as your main acne treatment causes scarring, which will give your skin a mottled appearance well into adulthood. Here are three tricks you can use to "pop" acne but not damage your skin.

Steam It Out

Swollen pimples and whiteheads so big they are about to pop are incredibly gross to look at, but a good steam will help your clogged pores pop on their own. If you want to try this method, here are two approaches to steaming the nastiness out of your pores.

• Sitting in a sauna: If your family has a membership to a gym, and that gym has saunas or steam rooms, this is a great way to open pores and release the oil, dirt and infections that cause swollen zits and pimples. Sit it a sauna or steam room for at least a half hour and then rub your face vigorously with a soft towel. Because the pores are already open and swollen, they will release what is trapped in them (if they have not already popped on their own and have begun to leak their contents in the sauna or steam room!)
• Using a spa facial steamer or homemade version of a facial steamer: If you do not want to sit in the buff in a steam room or sauna by yourself or with a bunch of strangers, then the next best option for opening your pores with steam is to use a spa facial steamer. It looks like a vaporizer, but has a face shield to keep the steam in and focused on your face. The less expensive (and free!) version of a spa facial steamer is a pot of boiling water and a bath towel. Place the boiling water on a table, put your face as close to the pot as possible and then drape your towel over your head and the pot to create a steam tent. Let the steam do its work, usually ten to twenty minutes, depending on how long the water holds its heat.

Hot-Lancing Your Acne

This procedure should only be done by a licensed dermatologist in his or her office. Your dermatologist will take a hot, sterile lancet and pop the largest and most swollen zits and pimples. Then you wash your face as usual in his or her office and/or rest with a moist warm washcloth on your face to help the lanced acne drain. Click here to learn more about acne treatments.