Skinspiration…  Step away from the mirror

*Disclaimer; All work produced in this skinspiration blog is owned by Nicole Webb, with copyrights to La Beauté Ltd.  

You’re about to have a dig at that lump on your chin, that red sore thing that’s been on your forehead for two days, the black thing on the side of your face or that lump that could possibly be a pimple that is just not at the surface yet! If you just squeeze it you will feel better right?

All you have now done is made a sore on the skin; exposed it to bacteria; created a scabby mess; extended the time it will take for that  ‘spot’ to heal; probably created something that will leave a red scar  and ultimately inflamed a lump under the skin that in fact wasn’t even a pimple in the first place. But at least you felt better that you attacked it, although the satisfaction quickly disappears to remorse when you see the swollen, inflamed mess you have created.

Deep down we all know not to pick, squeeze, poke and ‘attack’ our face but why??
When you are trying to dig at something that is deep below the surface, you are actually creating a traumatic response in the skin, which rushes inflammatory and immune cells to that area, this is why you see immediate swelling.You are damaging the delicate capillary network causing blood to hurry into the area, this is why you see immediate increased redness. If you do break the skin (which is your aim really), blood cells will pool into the area, clotting will occur and the natural wound healing cascade will begin, making the original lump stay there for much longer than if you had just left it. There is also the possibility of long or short term scarring from the wound you have created. Along with the added bacteria you are ‘gifting’ to the lump or pimple, your nails and finger are a breeding ground for bacteria and when you use your nails to dig into your skin to pick and pop you are actually exposing more bacteria creating an even bigger infection for your skin to fight.
As tempting as it is to stand in front of the mirror and pimple-pick, it is not the way to fix your skin.
There are two types of lump that can appear on your face and the treatment plan depends on the type of spot;

• Blocked pore: your face has pores all over it and although most of the time the natural oil that flows out of them does so freely, at times if there is not enough natural lubricant the pore can become blocked. This then can oxidise and a blackhead will appear. If this blockage continues and the skin cells become aware they will go into clearance mode, trying to clear the blockage, fight the infection and a white headed (pus filled) spot will appear and you will have a traditional pimple. All of us are going to get some of these pimples from time-to-time  but making sure you have a good skin regime and good levels of omegas (EFAs) will help reduce your chances.
• Hormonal spots: are hard, deep, extremely sore, pimples that appear deep within the skin, if they are not touched they will have no white (pus) head but will instead have a bruise like appearance around them. These are created internally via our hormones, and no matter how much you pick and poke nothing will come out, all you will be doing is creating a sore and exposing it to bacteria and further increasing the scarring. Because of the hormonal internal link treatment of these is specific.

If you are regularly picking, popping or poking at things in your skin it’s time you spoke to us about what is really happening in your skin. We are able to help you to get the congestion and bumps under control, determine what is a real pimple and how best to treat them.

So next time you are attacking your face with your fingernails,
STOP
and think about how much longer it is going to linger than if you just leave it alone.