to pop or not to pop, that is the question
When I get a pimple, I think it’s so ugly that I pick at it until it turns into a bloody crater on my face, scarring me up and making it 100 times uglier than it was when it started… but still, I can’t stop.
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Not that it’ll help the habit, but if you’re able to let yourself get rid of them more peacefully, put some really hot water on a tissue and hold it against the pimple for a short bit — it’ll prime most of them for popping.
you can also put a little bit of toothpaste (not gel) on it and it will dry right up. not sure what is in the toothpaste, but it works! a stage make-up person told me about it ages ago.
i do this same exact thing. i cannot help it. if it looks like i could get something out of it i try.. and then get all bloody.
and that toothpaste thing does work, ive done it before. but i heard on the radio that people have done that and then had to go to the doctors because the toothpaste burned their face. which i think is a little out of line, but i can see it happenening.
hi chelsea — there are people who always think “more is more”, know what i mean? like, if a tiny dab of toothpaste is good then half the tube would be fantastic! that also may be why you aren’t supposed to use the gel due to the ingredients. anyway, when you pick you can make a scar, so try not to.
I used to do that all the time… After seven years of acne my face is finally clearing up. I credit that to the fact that I went on vacation with some friends a few months ago, and was never alone. I couldn’t pick at my acne in front of them, so I constantly reminded myself to keep my hands (and nails) away from my face. After I got back I told my mom to confiscate my magnifying mirror (which I always used to frantically search for new pimples) and my sharp tweezers (with which I used to “extract” pimples). I’ve become much better, I usually just put spot treatments on my pimples now (Neutrogena’s salicylic acid one is very good), and things have greatly improved. I know what you went through… Please stop causing yourself pain. It will be hard, but it’s worth the effort. Good luck! <3
I do the same thing. I cannot stand any kind of a bump on my skin. I pick at everything though: pimples, dry skin bumps, razor burn bumps, moles, callouses, ect..
I do the same thing. The thing, though, is I don’t really want them to go away. I used to do this to my arms really bad in middle school, but now its mostly my face. Suggestions such as tooth paste have nothing to do with this neuroses to me.. I like to pop zits. Not just mine. My boyfriend gets mad at me, because sometimes (maybe every few days) I’ll just start popping the bumps on his face. He’s used to it and just gives in about half the time. I especially like large blackheads. :X I’ve noticed myself doing it particularly a lot when I’m stressed. If my parents ever fight or something, I go in my room and revert to pickng on my arms.
if it’s really severe, you might want to get checked for dermotillomania…which is what I have. I have picked to the point my face is covered in scars and I have to wear make-up always, which leads to more pimples which leads to picking…it’s a vicious cycle. I had to start taking Paxil to calm it down. that helped a lot, and taking preventitive measure like making sure I never went to bed with make-up on and washing my face a lot has helped with reducing it. But right now my face looks something awful…had a major break out a few days ago and now it’s covered in scabs…ugh
@ Sydney – the arm thing. I’ve done it since I was about 9 years old. I even remember the first time I popped a zit.. it was on my thigh. Ever since then, I’ve been able to spend hours picking at the skin all over my arms and legs. Even if it’s just a colorless bump, if I can pop it, I’ll feel a need to. Over the years I’ve gotten better, but every once in a while I relapse and spend an hour going over my skin, searching for bumps.. it’s definitely a stress relief thing. Better than cutting.. maybe.
If you’re wanting to get rid of persistent acne, finding a good dermatologist seems to be the only solution. There’s different types of acne, caused by different bacteria, and salicylic acid, seemingly the only otc acne med, doesn’t take care of them all. I didn’t see a dermatologist until I was out of high school, and then only because I’d switched primary care provider and my new doctor forced me to.
Lucky me, I’ve got acne paired and trichotillomania (plucking of the eyebrows and lashes in my case). I’d take compulsive cutting over trich any day.
@Sydney: Blackheads are my specialty. I ‘work on’ my husband’s back every few weeks or so, searching for clogged pores with my trusty tweezers and performing blackhead extractions. I don’t remember how it started, but he wants me to, and I like doing it. I’ve wondered if I should go to the local tech school and learn how to do facials, etc.
I do the same exact thing! I just can’t help it. It’s like the pimple is mocking me, looking like Texas on my chin, so I get this itch in my hand that needs to squeeze it dead. And every time I’m about to do it, I think about how ugly it’ll look afterwards and that I really should just leave it alone, but something in my mind tells me that maybe if I squeeze it, it’ll be just a little smaller. So I do it some more. And then I’m just like wth, its already done for, does it really matter?
But with slow progress, I’m working on it. What I do to help it, is I just wash my face often. Somehow I feel better, because I can touch it, without really popping it. Don’t know if it would work for you, but you could try it! Kick some pimple ass! ♥