[Brad Lockyer]

As awful (and painful) as pimples can be, there’s really nothing quite as satisfying as popping one and releasing all that pressure.

The medical advice is to leave them alone, and they should clear up by themselves. But we all know that’s next to impossible to do, Dr Sandra Lee, also known as reality-TV start ‘Dr Pimple’ has some tips on how to pop pimples without leaving unsightly scars.

“If you simply cannot resist, only try to extract the pimple if the bump is very superficial to the surface of the skin, because you are the least likely to cause local infection and/or permanent scarring,” she says.

Sterilize the area

Make sure you wash your hands and clean any tools or implements thoroughly before beginning. Use antibacterial wipes to really make sure the germs are gone.

Wash your skin with warm water

This will cause the pores on your skin to open up, which is what you want as it will make it easier to push pus and dirt out of your pimple.

Use your fingers or a cotton swab

Making sure your fingers are clean, place pressure on the skin immediately surrounding the whitehead [or blackhead] to push the contents out. You can increase traction by wrapping clean tissue paper around the fingers that are applying pressure.

Avoid over-squeezing

You may want to really squeeze your pimple hard to make sure you’ve got all of the gunk out. When a pimple or blackhead is ready to pop, it should give way quite easily. If you’re squeezing but nothing is popping, you may need to wait a bit longer or see a doctor if it doesn’t go away.

“If the blemish is not popping, there’s definitely a time to give up because forcing it and continually pushing and squeezing will only irritate your skin cause increased swelling, redness, and pain, and certainly increase your risk for local infection and scarring,” Dr Lee says.

How do you get rid of pimples? Got any good tips?

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