just say no to picking and popping

I've been known to sit in front of my magnifying mirror and pick and poke and press things on my face. Every dermatologist in the world will tell you not to do that, but it's just so darn entertaining. And addicting - once you find one teeny tiny inkling of a pimple, you examine every other millimeter of your face for something else to get rid of. At least that's the case with me. 

I used to do this all the time, but then I started to notice that the more I touched my face, the more I broke out and the slower my pimples would heal when I did get them. Think about it - here I am, digging my fingernails - god only knows what kinds of dirt and bacteria are on them - into my face. I might as well have rubbed my face against a subway pole. No wonder my skin started to look better when I stopped picking things that had no right being picked.

But, here was the problem - what if there was something on my face that I wanted to get rid of - fast? The temptation to touch was very strong, and I knew that if I just gave it one little press, it would be gone. Then I learned that's not the best way to get rid of a pimple. If you want to force bacteria and dirt and oil back into your skin and possibly risk scarring, then pop away.

The right way to get rid of a pimple, my dermatologist told me, is to use the hot compress trick. You place a washcloth (clean, obviously) under hot water, let it cool for a second or two, then place it onto the spot for 10 seconds. When the towel starts to cool, dunk it under the hot water again, and repeat these steps for about 5 minutes. This increases circulation to the pimple and makes it "develop" faster, if you will. You won't notice a difference ASAP, but in about a day, you can pop the heck out of that sucker, using two Q-tips on either side of the zit and pressing ever so gently. You'll surprise yourself at how effortless the gunk comes out. This is truly one of those absolutely gross beauty rituals that oddly enough produces extreme gratification (similar to holding up a Biore pore strip under the light after I rip it off my nose - ohh, how I love that).

Once you're in the clear, apply a dab of a Clearasil Vanishing Acne Treatment Cream (it has benzoyl peroxide) to help dry out the spot. Try this trick next time you have a pimple and make your derm proud!