A tale as old as time, huh? You get a zit, a pimple, or a dreaded blackhead and your first instinct is to take both your index fingers to your face and pop it! Innit? *facepalm*
We’ve all been there, trust us, but that in no way makes it okay. Picking at your skin/acne can do more harm than good (if there is any good, tbh) and in the present times that we find ourselves in, it is so so much more important to not touch your face! (the youknowhat virus spreads that way!!!)
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PICK AT YOUR ACNE?
A pimple is basically a clogged pore that becomes infected, when you decide to squeeze it to get the pus out (gruesome, we know), what you’re most likely doing is pushing the pus and the dirt deeper into your pore. What that basically does is cause more swelling and irritation. After this stunt the pimple/zit can reappear bigger and/or (brace yourselves..) leave a permanent scar/spot! Now you do not want that! Remember: acne > scars.
The easiest way to get rid of a zit is patience, yes patience. (Or pimple patches that will protect and heal your pimple. Read: Poof’s Acne Healing Dots). The zit will go away on its own but if you want to speed up the departure, you can use a good spot treatment.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
A lot of different reasons. It could be you wanting to gain some control over your skin because those breakouts are so out of your control. It could be anxiety or OCD, it could be you wanting perfect skin and fighting tooth and nails (quite literally) for it. Whatever may be the reason, the important thing is, it’s not good for you and you need to stop.
And like always, we’re here to help!
THINGS THAT HELP..
The first step of solving the problem is identifying it. Take note of when you pick at your acne the most, what causes this behavior, is it at a particular time in the day, and what are you feeling at that time? For example, I pick at my acne when I’m alone, right after my night time routine, when I stare at the mirror for too long, distractedly while I read or watch something on the computer, and when I am stressed etc etc
When you know what triggers your picking habits, you’ll know what boundaries you need to set for yourself, what that means is that you create hurdles between yourself and your picking habits when you feel like picking at your skin, like if you pick at your acne after looking into the mirror for too long, establish an arm’s distance mirror rule, that means no closeup staring at your face! If you pick when you’re alone then go and sit with your family or video call a friend when you get the urge to do so etc etc
Another good way to avoid touching your face is keeping your hands busy, you could do that by using fidgeting devices or you could cook, paint your nails etc etc
Moreover, put an acne dot on it. That’ll literally guard it from your picky fingers.
Distract yourself, with social media, a good book, a cup of tea! Whatever that keeps your mind off of that little bump on your face.
TAKE IT EASY
But listen up, all of us have popped a pimple and squeezed a blackhead or two once in our lives. It’s really bad for you but it’s not the end of the world. Don’t be so hard on yourself, give yourself time and space to slip up because everyone slips up (we still do, all the time!) as long as you know in your heart that you're trying to be better. And whenever you do slip up, remember to hold yourself accountable, remember how you feel afterwards and use that as motivation to not do what you did next time.
You can do it! We’re rooting for you!
Fact (maybe): This unsupressable desire to pick at one’s own skin could be a disorder called Dermatillomania. Dermatillomania is a disorder where one can not stop picking at their skin. If you’re someone that has struggled with mental health issues like OCD or anxiety and picking at your face is also something you struggle with, please try out the ways we’ve mentioned above to avoid picking at your skin but it’s best if you see a specialist.