The Art Of Squeezing A Pimple: How To Properly Get The Gunk Out Of Your Pores By: Tasha Nelson So, we have all had those big juicy pimples that just seem to appear out of nowhere and scream, “Pop me!” So what do we do?...we go to town on that sucker determined to squeeze everything out, thinking we are helping things along. If you are like most people who squeeze and apply all kinds of crazy pressure determined to pop that zit, you are probably not using the right technique. Why Extractions Are Important If you’ve never heard the term ‘extractions’ it’s just a fancy word for manually unclogging the pores. We cleanse our face to remove dirt, oil, and make-up which is the most important step in any good skin care regimen… but cleansing is not enough. The start of a pimple begins deep down in the pore where oil and skin cells collect forming a plug. These plugs can be sticky and embedded in the pore so much so that simple cleansing is not sufficient. This is where manual extractions come in. Ideally, extractions should be performed by an esthetician. I realize telling people to not squeeze their pimples is like talking to the wall. We all do it. No one wants to go around with a huge “mount fuji” on their face for everyone to stare at, right? With that said, if the proper technique is used you can safely do manual extractions on yourself. Using the proper technique is extremely important because if you don’t extract in the right way or apply too much pressure you can dump the contents of the pore into the surrounding area. This can lead to infection and more blemishes. You can also damage the tissue, which can lead to scarring So, if you just can’t resist the urge to squeeze that pimple— please do it the right way! I am going to walk you through step by step how to do proper extractions on yourself. You will need the following items: -Facial cleanser -Tissues or gauze pads -Toner -Cotton Balls -Small facial steamer. (Don’t worry if you don’t have a steamer you can fill your bathroom sink with steaming hot water and put a towel over your head to trap the steam and let the steam cover your face) -Magnifying mirror -Clean Towel Step One Cleanse your face and neck with a good cleanser preferably one that contains sulfur or salicylic or alpha hydroxy acid to unclog the pores and thoroughly wash away dirt and surface oil. Step Two After cleansing you’ll want to prepare the skin by steaming to soften the impacted debris inside the pores. Use your facial steamer or covered head over your bathroom sink to allow your face to soak up the steam for 10-15 minutes. Pat your skin dry with your clean towel. Step Three Using either your two index fingers or your two middle fingers wrap the fingers with tissue or gauze pads. While looking into your magnifying mirror, assess your skin and look for any obvious blackheads where the head is clearly visible. Also look for reddened raised blemishes with or without a ‘white cap’. You’re going to be using the sides of either your index fingers or middle fingers to apply gentle rolling pressure. Never use your nails! With the sides of your fingers on both sides of the blackhead or blemish, apply a gentle, rolling pressure almost like you are scooping the plug out from the skin. Repeat 2-3 times if nothing comes out then the area is not ready and should be left alone. Do not keep picking or squeezing! If you are successful and the plug is removed you may see some blood. That’s ok. At this point you want to continue the gentle rolling and scooping motion until the blood turns clear. This will ensure that everything is out. Step Four Once you are done with the extractions, with a cottonball apply your toner to your entire face and neck and continue with the next steps in your skin care regimen. It is best to do extractions before bed because you will experience some redness and swelling. This is normal and will subside while you sleep. If you are doing this during the day you can apply ice for 5-10 minutes after the toner. The ice will help reduce redness and swelling. Manual extractions can be performed every 3-4 weeks depending on how congested your skin is. If you are using an effective skin care regimen you should not have as many extractions to do. For help with choosing a customized skin care regimen for acne prone skin visit my site http://www.whoistashanelson.com If you have any questions about extractions or any other skin care question or comment go to my Facebook page http://facebook.com/whoistashanelson, where we can chat. I’d love to hear from you!
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