pimple popper/extractor - update

luvmylocs · 05-12-2009, 01:40 PM

okay i know this may be gross for some of you so please leave if the mere mention of the word pimple grosses you out....

i have a question, i have a pimple popper/extractor thing. i'm wondering if it's doing my harm than good. it gets the pimple out but now i've got all the circular dark marks where i used that thing to get the pimple out. should i ditch the pimple popper and just wait fot the pimple to just go away? that would be very hard but i've got all the spots on my face. i don't use my fingers but i can't go more than a day or two without extracting and i think i'm paying the price. do people really just let pimples heal on their own?

thoughts??

rainshower · 05-12-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvmylocs

okay i know this may be gross for some of you so please leave if the mere mention of the word pimple grosses you out....

i have a question, i have a pimple popper/extractor thing. i'm wondering if it's doing my harm than good. it gets the pimple out but now i've got all the circular dark marks where i used that thing to get the pimple out. should i ditch the pimple popper and just wait fot the pimple to just go away? that would be very hard but i've got all the spots on my face. i don't use my fingers but i can't go more than a day or two without extracting and i think i'm paying the price. do people really just let pimples heal on their own?

thoughts??

if a pimple has a head, i pop it. that practice is actually encouraged by dermatologists, as long as your fingers are clean and you are applying gentle pressure at the base, and not squeezing hard enough to traumatize the surrounding skin.

however, if the infection (aka, goo) hasn't come to the surface yet, the best thing to do is leave it alone. but if you must encourage things to come to a head, apply a clay mask to your face or just to the pimples. or tone your skin with a warm water-epson salt solution. epson salt draws out toxins, which may help the 'goo' form a head faster.

what has really helped me is forgoing soap and detergents altogether and doing the oil-cleansing method. i've been doing this for over a year (just oil and very warm water), and my skin is so clear. the oil loosens plugs so that gently exfoliating my face with my warm bath cloth can dislodge them.

riotkitty · 05-12-2009, 02:18 PM

I have never found those things to work. Besides popping pimples always carries the risk of you rupturing the pore under the skin, when that happen you can be left with a nasty swollen cyst.

If its come to a head, I agree with Rainshower, it can be popped. She recommends a clay mask to draw it out. Another thing that will work for that is steaming the skin to dilate the pores. However if it still won't pop easily, leave it alone.

I have found that if the pimple is red and infected, the best thing for it is to put Neosporin on it. Its really more important that you get rid of the bacteria thats making your pimple infected, than to dry it out.

luvmylocs · 05-12-2009, 02:29 PM

thanks rainshower and riotkitty. i think what i've done is forced the goo out with the pimple popper and ruptured the skin around it (hence the very dark skin around what was the pimple).

empressri · 05-13-2009, 11:14 PM

You have to be pressing too hard. I use mine when my face is freshly washed, and then I press a hot washcloth to the area and THEN use the extractor. I can use it with minimal pressure and no scarring. If it scars you are being too rough.

Then you can use tea tree oil on the area afterwards or something of that nature. Make sure you clean the extractor with alcohol after each use.

LoloDSM · 05-14-2009, 07:43 AM

I couldn't tell what type of extractor you have, but I use this: http://sephora.com/browse/product.jh...dPaginate=true

The circle end is for blackheads. The lance end is for whiteheads. I was doing it wrong for some time and got similiar scars from using the circle on whiteheads.

The lance works much better. I just press it to the side/base of the whitehead and it pops right out. Sorry for the TMI.

I agree with Empressri's advice too. I steam my face first or do it after the shower.

luvmylocs · 05-14-2009, 11:04 AM

thanks ladies. this the one i have:

tweezerman skin care tool

i use the angled wire side on white heads but i don't always steam before and i think i am pressing too hard. the pimple flies out of my skin. sorry i know it's gross.

i'm using this one the pimples:

blemish stick

i've gone back to using benzoyl peroxide. i want to not even have the pimples in the first place. it recently got super hot again like it'll be until october here and my skin is just freaking out!!!!

wild~hair · 05-14-2009, 11:46 AM

a bit of a guano …

Yes, BP is really effective for most people.

You might also want to try adding some salicylic acid to your routine. That, combined with the BP, can be very effective.

No one really knows what causes acne, but I think for me it's because my skin doesn't slough off like everyone else's. So I use a mild exfoliant 2x a day [6 aspirin dissolved in water as a "scrub" — applied gently]. And I also apply a product that helps exfoliation along [I use Walgreens AHA, which is not actually a salicylic acid product, but it works for me and it's cheap].

I apply BP every night. I take a night off from the BP every so often, whenever my skin feels a bit dry or tight. Happens in colder weather, maybe every 2-3 weeks.

I also have a Clarisonic, which is a godsend.

I'll be 40 in a few months and I still break out quite a bit if I don't follow this routine. But if I follow it, my skin looks damn good!

I know you didn't ask for general skin care advice, but I always think it's best to head these zits off at the pass, don't you?

/guano

luvmylocs · 05-14-2009, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wild~hair

a bit of a guano …

Yes, BP is really effective for most people.

You might also want to try adding some salicylic acid to your routine. That, combined with the BP, can be very effective.

No one really knows what causes acne, but I think for me it's because my skin doesn't slough off like everyone else's. So I use a mild exfoliant 2x a day [6 aspirin dissolved in water as a "scrub" — applied gently]. And I also apply a product that helps exfoliation along [I use Walgreens AHA, which is not actually a salicylic acid product, but it works for me and it's cheap].

I apply BP every night. I take a night off from the BP every so often, whenever my skin feels a bit dry or tight. Happens in colder weather, maybe every 2-3 weeks.

I also have a Clarisonic, which is a godsend.

I'll be 40 in a few months and I still break out quite a bit if I don't follow this routine. But if I follow it, my skin looks damn good!

I know you didn't ask for general skin care advice, but I always think it's best to head these zits off at the pass, don't you?

/guano

thanks wild~hair! i'm always open to good skin advice!!

i actually have some 5% and 2% salicylic acid but i don't use it consistently (problem). now i'm going to start with both the salicylic acid and the bpo again. i also have a clarisonic, again don't use it regularly (bad me). now that's super hot and muggy here my skin just went crazy.

does the bpo mess up your sheets? i thought it whitened sheets/towels.

WurlyLox · 05-14-2009, 02:42 PM

I pop 'em if they have a head, usually just with clean fingers, although I have a Tweezerman extractor.

Lately I've been dabbing a little plain tea tree oil on them, whatever phase they're in, with a q-tip before bedtime. Usually by morning most of the redness is gone, and they're well on the way to healing, even if they're the painful cystic ones. Most of the pain goes away after one treatment.

No overdrying, peeling, itching like I can get with either BP or SA.

Suburbanbushbabe · 05-14-2009, 03:14 PM

I don't like those things. Using aspirin on the pimples has helped a lot. At the first sign I dissove an uncoated aspirin pill in a tiny bit of water and rub it on the pimple. It's usually gone or very diminished the next day. I try not to pop them because of scars and nastiness.

wild~hair · 05-14-2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvmylocs

does the bpo mess up your sheets? i thought it whitened sheets/towels.

Yes, it does. I use white and off-white pillowcases and towels.

But I do have pretty sheets with designs on them. I just keep a satin-y off white case on one of my pillows. If I want to cover it up, it's pretty easy to slip a decorative case on and off each day.

I dislike zits more than I like colorful linens and towels. So I really don't mind all that much.

Zinnia · 05-14-2009, 06:00 PM

SBBB and others, where are you buying uncoated aspirin? I can only find coated.

LL~2009 · 05-14-2009, 07:03 PM

Hello. long-time problem skin person here. my face has gotten much better over the yrs and by using gentle practices. i'm just curious as i've never heard of the aspirin method. why? what is the purpose?
Thanks. Oh, and i do not pop unless it's really bad and white-headed. these days i use a spot treatment of a "nature's gate" SA gel.

Also, Wild hair> i've often thought that also about the skin not sloughing off normally. I get these really annoying 'plugs' kind-of in all my pores on the chin, they are not pimples or whiteheads and i can scrape them off but they never seem to go away. (??!) do you think the aspirin exfoliater would work? i 've used other exfoliators with little help.

wild~hair · 05-14-2009, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windflower

SBBB and others, where are you buying uncoated aspirin? I can only find coated.

I use coated for this purpose. It's ok.

You just need to not have the hard plasticky shell on it, that's all. Avoid "enteric coated."

This is what you should look for:

These are coated too, but you can put these in your palm, dribble some warm or hot water on them, and they will dissolve and break up quickly [the warmer the water, the faster they dissolve].

Suburbanbushbabe · 05-14-2009, 08:04 PM

Family Dollar store.

wild~hair · 05-14-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LL~2009

Also, Wild hair> i've often thought that also about the skin not sloughing off normally. I get these really annoying 'plugs' kind-of in all my pores on the chin, they are not pimples or whiteheads and i can scrape them off but they never seem to go away. (??!) do you think the aspirin exfoliater would work? i 've used other exfoliators with little help.

First off, it has a grainy texture, so there's the mechanical exfoliation from it. [Be gentle with it, though.]

Also, aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid and I think there's a connection there to the exfoliating properties of salicylic acid. Usually when I declare this on a message board, however, someone with a degree in chemistry inevitably comes along and says why they are not the same, because this or that and yaddayaddayadda.

Okay, fine.

All I know is, it works!

When I really want a nice exfoliation treatment, I mix up a dozen aspirin with a tablespoon of yogurt and apply it as a mask. Leave on the skin until it dries, usually about 10 minutes or so. If you want the mask to last longer, add some glycerin.

Start on the low end, though. You don't want to dry yourself out.

This mask leaves my skin very soft and clear. A very nice treatment!

LL~2009 · 05-14-2009, 09:57 PM

Thanks wild~hair!

gemini · 05-15-2009, 07:24 AM

Someone clued me in on using cold sore ointment as a spot treatment to dry out pimples--

I tried that for the last one I had and it worked; I used "abreva."

wild~hair · 05-15-2009, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemini

Someone clued me in on using cold sore ointment as a spot treatment to dry out pimples--

I tried that for the last one I had and it worked; I used "abreva."

Interesting.

Doesn't quite make sense, since aren't cold sores viral, and zits are bacterial. But, hey, I'm for whatever works! [as mentioned]

I have some Abreva, I may try this for the next random hormonal zit.

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