We all definitely do skin care things we shouldnโt. Not in the โWhoops, I didnโt wash my faceโ way, eitherโbut in the โOh, no, Iโve made a horrible mistakeโ way, when you accidentally destine yourself to long-lasting disaster. Two very different experiences, but if youโve ever started picking a zit and come away with a gushing wound, you get it. The problem is, thanks to our one true love, the Internet, and our second true love, Sephoraโs skin care section, itโs harder than ever to tell whatโs within our quasifacialist capabilities.
We ask you: Who among us hasnโt watched a Dr. Pimple Popper video and thought, Yeah, I could express a juicy sucker? Who hasnโt stuck their face over boiling pasta water, in the grand tradition of opening your pores to have some fun? Itโs human nature to want some control. But ugh, the repercussions when things go awryโnot good. So we set out to learn our limits. Here, the top skin techniques you should really, truly leave to derms.
1. Picking Your Skin
We all knew this was coming but play it again, Hadley King, M.D.. โThe biggest mistake I see is people picking at their acne. It really does create more problems than anything else,โ says Dr. King, a dermatologist at New Yorkโs Skinney Medspa. Alas, the hope that youโre maybe, potentially speeding up the healing process is a ruse.
According to Dr. King, picking almost always makes your zits worse, causing more inflammation and increasing the risk that theyโll get infected. And anytime thereโs more inflammation, you also up the chances of scarring and discolorationโeven if you think it’s small enough to sneak by, Dr. King says. โEven tiny blackhead and whiteheads, which you can sometimes get away with picking without causing big problems, you’re still traumatizing your skin.โ