Popping that Pimple

An inflamed blemish happens when the pore becomes engorged with excess sebum, dead skin cells, and bacteria. When you squeeze a pimple, you may inadvertently force the debris from the pore deeper into the follicle. That can cause the follicle wall to rupture and spill infected material into the dermis (the innermost section of the skin.)

Not only do you run the risk of scarring if you pick at or “pop” your pimples, you can worsen the blemish. Don’t be fooled if you are able to coax pus and debris from the pore opening. Infected material may still be entering the dermis from below.

Squeezing a pimple can lead to a nodule (hard, red, painful blemish deep within the skin) or a cyst. The most serious form of a blemish, cysts are large and painfully inflamed lesions. They develop when a membrane forms around the infection in the dermis, creating a soft, fluid-filled lump. Cysts must by treated by a physician.

Picking at your blemishes can spread infection, and ultimately worsen your acne. Clearly a hands-off policy is the best choice when it comes to your skin.

Oil Production in your Skin

The skin has many oil (sebaceous) glands, which secrete oil that contains wax esters, triglycerides, and squalene - a hydrocarbon that is an intermediate in the formation of cholesterol. These fats (or lipids) form a film that helps keep moisture in the skin. While increased sebum production results in oily skin, the opposite is not always the case, as dry skin can also arise from an impaired skin barrier. Oil production can be affected by diet, stress, and hormones-as well as genetics. In a study of twenty pairs each of identical and nonidentical same-sex twins, identical twins had virtually identical amounts of oil production, while the nonidentical twins had significantly different amounts.

No amount of blotting and scrubbing will “remove” the skin’s oil production, and many of us unknowingly destroy the natural beauty of the skin in pursuit of clarity. The skin’s own sebum mechanism is there to regulate own moisture. Drying your skin profusely with oil-stripping, foaming cleansers, detergents and de-greasers like soap and sulfates, or alcohol-based toners that leave the skin feeling tight (always a sign it’s been stripped), will only cause the skin to “rebound” with excess oiliness and destroy its protective and anti-bacterial “matrix,” leaving it sensitized. By stripping the natural acid mantle of the skin, these deep cleaning products actually make skin more vulnerable to bacteria and inflammation. Dabbing benzoyl peroxide often destroys the beauty of the skin by causing flaking, while more aggressive treatments, such as antibiotics or Accutane can cause a cascade of side-effects.