Ingrown hairs have a lot in common with pimples. They show up uninvited, seemingly with the sole purpose of annoying the crap out of you. And, since they’re right there, you might be tempted to take matters into your own hands and try to pop them. While you can do that pretty safely with some pimples, what’s the deal with removing an ingrown hair yourself?

Here’s how bad it actually is to try to get that sucker out on your own.