Are you a spot squeezing addict?

How and why you should stop

When a big juicy whitehead appears on your face, the temptation to give it a satisfying squeeze is often hard to resist.

You know you shouldn’t but oh how good it would feel to just give it a little squeeze… Surely it can’t do too much harm… right?

Wrong. Here’s why.

What will spot squeezing do to my skin?

It can cause scarring – when you put pressure on a spot, it can damage the pore and cause temporary or permanent scarring/ pitting of the skin. You might think it doesn’t matter with just one but when you keep squeezing your spots, it all adds up and can lead to noticeable scarring across areas of your face.

It can push the infection deeper into your skin – when you squeeze a spot, the pressure can cause the wall of the pore to burst, spreading the infection deeper into the skin. This can cause more blemishes and elongate the healing time for your spot.

But I can’t help myself! How do I stop?

When you’re addicted to squeezing spots, touching and seeing the whitehead only increases your temptation to squeeze it.

So applying something to the spot will help you stop fiddling with it or constantly looking at it in the mirror. Apply a thin layer of your Silver Intensive Mask to the spot and let it dry – you can leave this on all day. This will help reduce inflammation and bacteria at the same time.

Keep your hands busy with other things – do some drawing, scroll through your phone, play with a stress ball – do anything that stops your hands trying to fiddle with your spot while you’re watching TV!

Sometimes watching videos of spot squeezing can help you get your fix without any damage to your own skin – youtubers like Dr Pimple Popper can be a satisfying watch if you like that kind of thing and aren’t squeamish!

Is there another way to get rid of a whitehead?

The best way to get rid of a whitehead is to leave it alone and let it heal naturally.

Squeezing it will not ‘get rid of the infection’ or make it heal any faster – it will actually do the opposite and make it stick around for longer as a red mark, scab or even a scar.

You’ll find that if you leave it alone – it will go down naturally in a couple of days.

But I will feel so self-conscious with this yellow spot on my face! What do I do?

Use concealer. Clean your face thoroughly and apply your Anti-blemish & scar repair serum to help reduce inflammation and prevent further bacteria. Then dab a green concealer on first if you have one to reduce redness. Then use a thick concealer on your spot, building up coverage in a dabbing motion. Finish with powder.

Turn it into a beauty spot. Depending on where it is on your face, this can be a great trick. Cover your spot with a small dot of eyeliner or eyebrow pencil to create a beauty spot.

Use a small round skin coloured plaster. This sounds dramatic and will obviously depend on where the spot is on your face and what you are doing as to whether this will work for you. But this can be a good solution if you are hopping on a zoom call or popping to the shop, to help you feel less self-conscious (and help you resist touching it!). Apply your Anti-blemish & scar repair serum to the area to protect it from bacteria and then pop over your plaster.

Is there any time when it’s ok to squeeze a spot?

No! You shouldn’t be squeezing any of your spots, especially any that do not have a whitehead yet (you know the ones we’re talking about –the bumpy red ones that you know will give a satisfying squeeze when you prod them).

These are the WORST ones to squeeze as you are extremely likely to scar your skin because you are bursting open your pore.

If you really can’t resist (and you’re going to ignore our advice anyway) here’s how you can squeeze a spot with minimal damage to your skin:

1) Wait until your spot has a clear whitehead and has been around for at least a day

2) Clean your face thoroughly

3) Hold a hot, clean washcloth over the area until it becomes cold to open your pores

4) Use 2 cotton buds or 2 fingers wrapped in clean tissues, to gently put pressure on either side of the spot. It should come out easily and without much force. Always stop if your skin begins to bleed or weep clear liquid, or if the spot is still not squeezing after a couple of tries.

5) Clean the area again and apply your serum or a spot treatment such as Benzyl Peroxide.