We know, we know, we shouldn't pop our pimples. We’ve heard that advice for most of our lives, but there’s just something about those bumps that begs us to break the rules.
If you do give in to temptation against your best interests, there are a few things you should know to avoid infection, scarring, or simply making the spot worse. For starters, only extract a pimple when there’s a visible head on the surface of the skin, otherwise you risk leaving a permanent mark.
The next step: understand what’s going on inside each bump, so you can better learn how to treat them. In general, breakouts form when pores get clogged from bacteria, oil (sebum), and dead skin build-up, but are also heavily influenced by things like stress and genetics. And while we’re quick to assign the gross-sounding term "pus" to the substance inside every pimple, it’s more complicated than that.
Pustules — aka, red bumps with pus near the surface — are just one type of blemish you can develop, according to dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research for dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. There’s also papules, nodules, cysts, whiteheads, and blackheads. (The latter two categories don’t actually contain pus.)
More often than not, what you’re tempted to pop is a pustule pimple. “Pus is a collection of inflammatory blood cells that accumulate within the follicle and reach the surface of the skin,” says Dr. Zeichner. “It accumulates as a result of the inflammation that develops in the pore and oil gland.”
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