Can we really not squeeze our acne spots?

I think most acne sufferers knew that they are not supposed to squueze their spots, zits or pimples. If you have been visiting a skin dermatologist, I am sure that he/she will tell you to never ever squueze your pimples, no matter how tempting you are. Right?

But even with this vital information, for someone who has pimples for quite some time, somehow, he/she will surely fail to fight the temptation to pop those acne spots. I guess the satisfaction in picking those pimples really put off the doctor's "no no" advice. Before I continue, can yo guess what's wrong with the picture?

So it is really a big mistake to pop those pimples? Well, if your spot is red in color, don't ever trying to pick on them. By doing so, you would cause severe and irreversible damage to the surrounding skin tissues. Furthermore, nothing will pop out as there is really nothing in it (yet) that can be squeezed out and if you press on them real hard, not only will they become bigger and redder, you would be presented with a big scar for your lifetime.

However, if your acne spots are yellowish in color, they are indeed ready to be squuezed. One way to do it is to squeeze them GENTLY with clean fingers covered by tissues at the tips. By now, I guess yo know what's wrong with the photo. The missing tissue paper!

If the pimples are really "mature" (yellowish and look like ready to pop by itself), a gentle pull of the skin surrounding the pimples (instead of squeezing it) will easily burst the pus inside the pimples. Yellowish pus will flow out from the "squeezed" pimples. To make sure the content of the pimple is emptied fully, some people give it a gentle squeeze. Here, one can see more pus which is thicker will flow out.

When red liquid flows out from the acne head, it means that blood is flowing out. So the moment you see red liquid flowing out, damage has been done to the tissues surrounding the matured acne. That is why gentle pulling and squeezing are important to ensure minimal harm is inflicted to the tender skin surrounding the hair follicles.


What would you do if you see the pus is flowing out from the spot? Soak up and dab the pus with tissue, right? Now, you know why I mentioned clean tissue earlier on. Finish off everything with a gentle small dab of tee tree oil (but never apply too much as it will definitely irritate your skin) to the affected spot area.


Contrary to popular belief, I think matured yellowish spot should be squeezed. Why? Because sooner or later, its content will be popped out. Letting nature takes its course simply means that it will "grow" into bigger size before it bursts naturally. So a bigger residue or pits will be left if we let it occur naturally. But with the act of picking, we would have pick it at a time before it grows into its full size. So the after effect "pit" will be smaller.

Ok, now some of you may ask, "What about blackheads and whiteheads? Could they be squeezed?" Blackheads can be squeezed (gently of course) but never ever do it on whiteheads.

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Noticeable Pores. What you can do about it?

Most of us would feel that our pores are open an noticeable. They often look digusting and unsightly as compared to a porcelain finish skin which we all yearn. Nobody likes the look of an orange skin.

So can we do anything about them? Unfortunately, those tablets given by your GP to "treat" your acne isn't going to help in making the skin pores less prominent. Pores showing up more obvious after we suffer a round of acne problems. This happens because the area around the hair follicle has been stretched open with the solid plug known as black head which formed during the acne process.

So the pore will appear as a bigger "pit" due to the occuppation of the former blackhead and the lack of elasticity of the skin to return the skin to its original state.  With a bigger "hole", it will tend to attract more dirt and absorb more make up from its surrounding and worsen the outlook of the skin. Now you know why the bigger pores become more noticeable.

However, there are still ways to make the pores feature less prominent on our skin. Good make-up which is oil free will give us a prettier look as it will make our skin less greasy. In addition to the make-up, apply a light powder on top of the make-up and after a certain time, after your skin get used to it, the open pores will become less noticeable. Yes, make-up acts as a camouflage to hide the pores appearance. Don't think that make-up is only for the ladies as nowadays many guys go for make-up to do wonders to their skin.

If you don't know what or how to select the suitable make-up which is suitable for your skin, ask around. There are many cosmetic companies specialises in making concealers and foundations which are suitable for guys and gals.

Also, keeping your skin clean and less greasy will lessen the pores unsightly appearance. Remember earlier on, we mentioned dirt trapped in the pores will make them very obvious. So by getting rid of the dirt, we would have a more beautiful look. 


 

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The Dreaded Acne Scar

I think the most dreaded thing about having acne is its destructive effects on our skin which can be everlasting. This presents itself in the form of scars. Some marks which we defined as scars are visible but will improve over time while others are permanent.
 
Macules, "scars" which appear as red flat marks on the spot areas can be visible for as long as 6 months while  the brown discolorations which often appear in darker skin people can last up to a year and a half. This discolorations, known as post inflammatory hyper pigmentation, happen as a result of stimulation of the inflammatory process to the skin cell pigments.

Scars happen due to the way our body repair the damage to the skin. The damage to the elastic fibres around the pores gives our skin a scar appearance after the skin repaing process.  And some of us will scar easily as compared to our friends. So it is wise to seek treatments for our acne in order to suffer the effect of acne scars which are usually more difficult to get rid off.

Keloid or hypertrophic scars comes in the form of raised scars. During the skin repairing process, our system piled up lots of collagen to the acne spots and form lumps in its place. Even though they may appear for years, some of them do vanish.

Most acne sufferers develop sunken scars which appears as pits or depression on the previous acne spots. They can be further categorised into many types.

As its name implied, soft scars are smaller and softer compared to the other scar types. They are less prominent as they normally have gentle slopes.

 Ice pick scars are more severe and even though they look fine, they are very obvious due to their jagged and steep edges. Most people have these deformations on their cheeks.

 
Depressed scars are a more severe form of ice pick scars. They are actually ice pick scars that are developed into larger pit areas. Therefore, they feature prominently on our skin.

I think atrophic patches are the least obvious acne scars that one could have. They are just flat scars; unsmooth skin due to the repairing process but at least there is no pit or depression.

Whatever acne scars we have, we will dread for it as it really changes the way we look. After all, this scars might be there for life. For some of us, even if we spend a huge amount of time, money and effort to eliminate the scars, we won't get the same porcelain look that we initially possessed. So pay attention to your acne and do not prolong treatment.     

            

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