Zit Popping and Your Skin

Acne is a real challenge to anyone who has to deal with it on a daily basis. Acne is referred to as many things, most commonly pimples and zits. Regardless of the reference, there is one commonality that every acne sufferer shares—the desire to get those zits and pimples off of their face. It generally begins with a mild frustration, a more focused effort of washing the face, then an increased frustration followed by excessive face washing.

Zit Popping is Never an Option

At that point, other methods are instituted, namely spot treatments or the use of an acne cream. If such treatments don’t bring forth desired results, a young acne sufferer will generally take it upon themselves to do away with the zit via extraction—zit popping. This method does seem like it gets rid of every aspect of a zit, but as the next couple of days pass, the signs of the zit often persist. While zit popping may provide some relief, or do away with the head of a zit, chances are, the infection still remains in the follicle and can continue to make matters worse.

Why Zit Popping is Bad

Understanding the nature of acne helps to explain why zit popping is so bad for the skin. Ultimately, acne may possess many variables that cause the frequency or severity of development, but all acne comes from the same thing—a combination of three natural skin elements: Dead skin cells, the P-acne bacteria and sebum within the skin’s follicle. When these three components combine, a zit will form as a blackhead, whitehead or even as cystic acne.

Understanding that a zit is a bacterial infection should be reason enough not to squeeze, pick, prod or pop, yet zit popping still comes across as the best way to get rid of acne. During the process of popping a zit, bacteria can be squeezed deeper into the skin. If it takes root in the dermis, an acne cyst can develop, potentially causing skin damage and acne scars below the surface.

Zit popping is also rough on pores, forcing them to expand, often damaging their function and aesthetics permanently. Beyond damage done within the skin, certain zits can create scars on the surface of the skin, which remain unsightly for a time period far longer than if a zit were allowed to heal on its own.

Alternatives to Zit Popping

Instead of popping zits on a daily basis, it would make more sense to work towards clear skin. That isn’t going to happen by attacking a problem after it arrives with blunt force, but by preventing it in the first place.

A daily skin care regimen to be performed twice daily can and will be highly effective in treating acne where it starts, being able to stop the popping once and for all. This begins with an exfoliation, ridding the skin of dead skin cells that are clinging to the skin surface. A cleanser containing benzoyl peroxide will also serve to kill the bacteria on the surface of the skin, responsible for the development of acne.

Protecting the skin and calming the skin surface with a toner or astringent will help to constrict pores, and protect the follicles below from the intrusion of dead cells and bacteria.

Completing the process with a quality acne cream, to be used over all acne prone areas, will also help to fight any developing bacteria in the pores and on the surface of the skin. An oil-free moisturizer can be used in conjunction with this step to help offer balance from any drying nature of the acne care products. As the days and weeks pass, there will simply be fewer zits available for popping.