How to Squeeze a Blemish

While I don’t advocate squeezing your own blemishes, it is a reality that people will take matters into their own hands when they get up close to that mirror, so here is my expert advice for the safest way to do it without making it worse and creating further damage to the skin.

As I’ve always said, the issue isn’t really just the blemish itself because most blemishes (other than acne cysts) will come and go within a week or so, but the red, dark or purple mark leftover from picking can linger for months. So the goal is to get the infection out of the skin in the least invasive way.

Step #1 Assess the blemish. As almost always is the case, a blemish that has just appeared is not one that you should pick at. The reason is because if it’s a pustule-type blemish (the only squeezable kind where the whitehead comes to the surface) it usually takes at least 1- 2 days to get there. Picking a blemish before it’s “ripe” is an absolute no-no. If you do not see the whitehead on the very surface of the skin, do not touch it whatsoever as you can damage the surrounding tissue and make the infection worse than it already is. Do not proceed to step #2 until you see a visible whitehead on the very surface of the skin…

Step #2 Wrap fingers in tissue. Using one piece of tissue per hand, double it over and wrap them around each forefinger since these fingers offer the best control when squeezing at the skin. Tissue will provide padding for your fingers so that you don’t get nail marks on your face, as well as allowing the pus to get onto the tissue for easy disposal.

Step #3 Position your fingers. Generally starting out in the 3:00 and 9:00 position is good. The key to squeezing is that you want to get under the blemish, don’t squeeze on the top. So don’t have your fingers too close together, you want them a bit outside of the blemish so that you create a very mild pressure that removes the infection from up underneath and gets it to pop out. Squeeze slowly and see if anything comes out. If the whitehead is on the surface and was truly ready to come out, something should have come out. Next, position your fingers in a different angle, such as 2:00 and 7:00 and repeat. Then position them at another angle that you have not yet done and get it from that way too. Now you’re done – or as I say, “three strikes and you’re out.” If nothing came out, it meant that it was not ready and the blemish should have never been touched in the first place. Optional: Drug stores sell sterile, individually packaged lancets which can be really effective for piercing a tiny hole into the blemish to create an easy opening for the infection to come out.

Step #4 Apply a drying spot treatment. If and only if the pus did come out, you should now apply a spot treatment to help dry up and draw out any remaining infection. Look for treatments that use ingredients such as camphor, zinc and sulfur, like found in Renée Rouleau Night Time Spot Lotion.

Note: You should only apply a spot treatment AFTER the infection has removed and never before. If you apply a drying treatment the moment a blemish comes up, you are now drying out the skin and not really reaching the infection since it’s still under the skin. If you over-dry the skin and then attempt to squeeze the blemish after a few days when the whitehead comes to the surface, you now have to squeeze AND pull off dry, flaky skin which will add to post-breakout scar trauma.

Step #5 Once the blemish is healed, apply a fading treatment. Regardless whether you picked at the skin or not, a blemish will injure the skin by creating a break in the surface when the infection comes out. So having a small scab is inevitable. When the scab is long gone (usually a week or so after squeezing it), it’s normal to still be left with a post-breakout dark mark. Applying a brightening, exfoliating and fading gel such as Renée Rouleau Post-Breakout Fading Gel is extremely effective for getting the mark to fade more quickly – so the blemish will soon be a distant memory.

One final thought: Cystic acne, the deep, hard, sore blemishes that develop deep within the skin and can linger for weeks should NEVER be squeezed. Despite feeling something in there, cystic blemishes will rarely ever come up to the surface but rather they develop deep within the skin and they heal deep within the skin. Instead, use a product developed exclusively for spot treating cystic blemishes like Renée Rouleau Anti Cyst Treatment. This product gets deep down within the skin where the infection is present and breaks up the infection, ensuring a quicker recovery.

Read: Are You Guilty of Picking At Your Skin? 

See the collection of Renée Rouleau acne spot treatments.

Read: 11 Causes of Acne

Have a skin concern? Check out Skin Source—the A-Z guide on everything from acne, exfoliation and large pores to brown spots, sun protection and so much more!

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Information courtesy of www.ReneeRouleau.com, a website with skin care tips, products based on nine skin types and advice from skin care expert and celebrity esthetician, Renée Rouleau.