I find popping big juicy pimples strangely satisfying… It’s gross but totally true!
TMI ALERT: I can usually resist mine, but before I met El Hub I briefly dated a dude with serious bacne. When those suckers would ripen, I’d go to WORK.
I dunno… Maybe I thought I was doing my part to liberate clogged pores, and no pimple was left behind!
Generally speaking, however, it’s better to refrain from popping pimples and to allow the body to heal on its own (over-zealousness can lead to scarring). That said, if you still must pop, pop safely. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. For more on pimple popping, see The Proper Way To Pop A Pimple and Is Pimple Popping Dangerous & Will It Really Make Your Acne Worse?
Michelle (LipstickRules) says
Hilarious. This post made my day. Love your blog Karen.
.-= Michelle (LipstickRules)’s last blog post… Stepping out of your comfort zone =-.
Karen says
Hi Michelle,
Thanks!
Nina says
Haha, I wouldn’t touch anyone else’s zits but mine. But there was this one instance when my uncle asked me to extract a blackhead from his back. It looked like a mole but once you prick it oh from the depths of his pore is something that I wouldn’t want to describe! And it was something that kept on coming back! Some time after my extraction he asked me to check if it was still there, lo and behold it was back! LOL
Karen says
Hi Nina,
My mom had something like that on her back, too. My bro and I would take turns attacking it when it came back, ha!
Zara says
Hey Karen, long time no comment! been very busy but I have been keeping up with your posts. 🙂
This one just tugged at my heartstrings so I couldn’t help myself … maybe not acne, per se, but I do get an odd sense of satisfaction of getting at my BF’s blackheads (or are they whiteheads?). Just the *joy* of seeing it pop out of the skin.
e.e oh goodness, I am SICK.
.-= Zara’s last blog post… coomassie_blu: @tiff_th ew… totally. But they look so ugly wiyh socks… 🙁 =-.
Karen says
Hi Zara,
How have you been? I hope that you’re having a good summer so far. 🙂
Vonvon says
I don’t pop pimples but I do like to squuuueeeeeze out the blackheads/whiteheads from my Hubby’s nose….hehe!!! 😛
.-= Vonvon’s last blog post… Review: Kiehl’s Ultimate White Surface Brightening Exfoliator =-.
Karen says
Hi Vonvon,
HA! I’m guilty of that, too. Sooo satisfying.
Rachel says
Absolutely hi-lar post! I usually do not pop others’ pimples. I’ve done it on a rare occasion. Once my ma had a really bad pimple and kept complaining about it, calling it a “goiter” and the like LOL. I told her, I could take it off her hands… or rather her face. She was afraid because she never pops her own pimples, but she let me do it. She said it hurt a lot, but felt really relieved because after it was popped, all the pus had come out and it healed right away.
Karen says
Hi Rachel,
Now that’s love, girlfriend.
YadiQ says
i am with you on that – i too believe taking out the gunk from a pimple is like liberating clogged pores
other than my immediate family i dont mess with anyone elses – i am also as fidgety as they come when something pops up on my face – i have been known to perform surgeries on myself from time to time – thank god i do not have any permanent scarring !
Karen says
Hi Yadi,
Gah, me too! One thing that I’ve noticed helps is keeping my nails short. When they’re long it just makes the whole thing too easy.
Vampy Varnish says
Yeah you know me! Ok really though, the hubbie makes me pop his sometimes and it literally makes me gag. I beg, I plead but he makes me do it. The whole time I am trying to look away and not barf. I don’t know what it is, I’m afraid I’m hurting him and it just gives me the willies haha!
.-= Vampy Varnish’s last blog post… Nail Bliss Drama Queen Nails =-.
Karen says
Hi Vampy Varnish,
You’re a good sport. Gotta love a partner who’ll go above and beyond the call of duty to pop your zits for ya.
Stef says
My hubby asks me to do this and I can’t. It actually makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach.
Now my zits are a whole different story. I feel like a won a trophy when I get a good one!
.-= Stef’s last blog post… tarte eyeQuatic Summer Essentials set review =-.
Karen says
Hi Stef,
Ha! I am tempted to pop a few on myself right now, LOL!
Sarah says
my boyfriend and i were just discussing this; he thinks its a ‘woman thing’ because he’s met a few who are into it…but alas, not as much as I am. i have to hold him down, though, because he hates it. he also got a mean sunburn on July 4th thats now peeling…i’m all over it.
and i have no shame. i freely admit that there have been times standing in line at the grocery store, bank or wherever and spotted a mean zit on some strangers neck or something, and its all i can do to contain myself from diving in head first.
i’m sick, i know. i’m finally ok with it, too. 🙂
Karen says
Hi Sarah,
LOL! I have yet to be tempted by a stranger’s zit. I can see how it would be enticing, though!
jessica says
haha apparently, you are not alone (according to your poll results). i actually don’t like popping pimples b/c the contents are pretty gross. however, i am fascinated with extracting blackheads/whiteheads haha.
gio says
I don’tlike popping pimples, I prefer to let them them hal on their own. But whenever I get a pimpl, my boyfriend always tries to pop it.
.-= gio’s last blog post… QOTW: How long does it take you to do your makeup? =-.
jennifer says
haha i never have because i find that kinda gross…but anytime i have one my husband wants to pop it..i tell him hell no lol
.-= jennifer’s last blog post… makeup_queen81: @vintageortacky i so entered that…i would be happy with just the nail polishes =-.
Kim says
I am an active OPP popper lol… my boyfriend is the victim!
Dao says
Hahaha, “no pimple left behind” should have been a good policy in the Bush administration!!! I personally don’t touch other people’s zits and hope they don’t do the same to moi. However, I have a cousin who’s just like you and her daughter likes to peel the scabs off my face!
.-= Dao’s last blog post… A Simple Half Updo for You =-.
BeckBeck says
I don’t do other people’s, but there is a definite rush of satisfaction when I detonate one on my own face! Especially the ones that hurt – when they finally get to the point where you CAN pop them, they look so much worse but FEEL so much better after a good squeeze.
Vanessa H says
LOL yes…I pop my boyfriends! His face is clear (except for blackheads that I get with a pore strip…), but his back gets some HUGE ones from sweating at the gym. I usually have to catch him off guard when he’s laying on his tummy watching TV lol…so gross, but so satisfying.
sarahc says
Ewww… but yes, I’m down with OPP.
Meream says
Is that even legal? HAHAHAH I will never pop anyone’s pimples.
Sarah says
I would for my husband if he REALLY REALLY wanted me too, but in general I think it’s pretty gross 😉
Tatiana says
Karen, you’re the coolest. I love how you can be explicit with this stuff. I never popped anyone else’s zits buuut I go to town with ingrown hairs. My last boyfriend would get some after shaving and save those up for me. I also felt liberation in releasing that trapped hair!
Karen says
Hi Tatiana,
🙂 Thanks. GIRRRRL… I would go to town on El Hub’s ingrown hairs if I could. He won’t let me touch ’em, boo!
Alison says
I also like popping the blocked pores on my boyfriends back and he really likes the attention! We are a weird couple!
Karen says
Hi Alison,
I don’t think you guys are the only ones! I suspect there are a ton of couples that get a kick out it, too, LOL!
Luv J says
I luvvv ya girl BUT — ewwwwww!
Bisbee says
OMG – no, never. I wouldn’t even pop them on my children (when they were teenagers).
I can’t even go there. My DH makes me put drying cream on his when he gets them – every time I try to get out of it – I tell him I didn’t do it for my children, so I don’t understand why I would want to do it for him!
Give me a break! Take care of your own dam skin!
OK – rant over.
Brittnie says
Sometimes I’ll see a pimple or a blackhead on someone that I just want to pinch out, but I could never bring myself to pop someone elses’ pimples. As much as I want to see the pore breathe freely, I’d get too grossed out to go near someone elses’ blemishes.
Now mine, though, are a different story. Most of the time, I can’t leave them unpopped!
Karen says
Hi Brittnie,
LOL… yeah, those suckers are hard to resist. It takes a lot of will power to leave ’em alone.
Rachel says
I feel relieved to learn I’m not the only one who finds it strangely wonderful to pop pimples.
Ashley Jean says
Karen:
I predict this will be your most popular post aside from the give-aways.I totally eradicate my pop-worthy specimens, but am grossed out by the idea of touching someone else’s. Sometimes I see someone with a huge, hulking surface-zit and sure wish they’d do it themselves though, I want to tell them what they need to do and how it will feel sooo much better afterwards.
Karen says
Hi Ashley Jean,
LOL! I guess pimple popping needed a public platform (oops… got a little too alliteration happy there). 🙂
Steph says
My boyfriend and I are both compulsive poppers, so I pop his that he can’t get to, and he pops mine. It works. 🙂
Kate & Zena says
I have one word that will sum up my answer: :three year old voice: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
smiley says
Wow these comments make me LOL! But I do have to confess I like popping my own. Never tried someone else’s though. It’s sort of embarassing!
.-= smiley’s last blog post… NYC and Birthday Haul! Part 1 =-.
Karen says
Hi Smiley,
LOL! Maybe try it sometime. You’ll find it weirdly satisfying!
Gina says
omg!!!! i am obsessed with popping pimples! i try real hard to avoid my own ( its hard they are so tempting!), but if i see one on my boyfriend i have to get it hehe. Two of my ex boyfriends both had bacne &…. i loved it! I know it sounds so gross but there is something so fun/rewarding about squeezing a big pimple.
p.s i actually squeezed a huge black head from my dads nose yesterday! and today in a fitting room my best friend popped a lil one on my back for me 🙂
.-= Gina’s last blog post… Cozy Kitties =-.
Stephie says
Ha. I love how the poll is split between HECK NAW and HECK YES. 😛 Personally I am a HECK NAW, but I will admit I find myself staring at my boo’s ‘facial imperfections.’ He has that post pizza face thing going on that is quite curious to stare at…
heyhey says
Ya you know me! And ew. I did it in high school, for my bf, if the thing was like so big it was staring back at me or something. (Look it follows you across the room!). Or if they were literally painful to him– not just for me to look at.
Now that I know better I’d not do it again, what with the infection risks. Or I’d upgrade and get one of those fancy lancers.
marmar says
I haven’t gotten major pimples since high school (every so often a small whitehead pops up but I take that sucker down). BUT. It’s such a nasty habit.. I attack Charlie like white on rice. rofl
.-= marmar’s last blog post… I died and went to heaven. I <3 Anna Sui for… =-.
Liliana says
Ahhh yes!!! unfortunately my current bf will not let me anywhere near 1 particular one on his back that is a whitehead about the size of pea!!! omg. it is SO ready to be popped and squeezed out. alas, he insists that its a cyst and nothing will come out (little does he know, when he is passed out drunk, I have my way with it!)
Bill says
I hope I am not invading your chat. I came across this web site while Googling information about acne on my back. I consider myself an OK looking guy who takes care of himself (I exercise, eat well etc.). But I am very self-conscious about the acne I tend to get on my back. I can keep my back clear if I wash my back thoroughly, every morning, with special cleansers. But this process is very time consuming (and hard to do). I also have to stay away from chocolate or I will get cyst-like acne on my back. I always assumed women were completely grossed out by my acne. I was amazed to find your posts on here that some of you actually enjoy doing extractions. I wish I could find a woman like that. I believe if I could get to these clogged pores on my back as blackheads, before they become cyst-like zits, my back would be clear.
beth says
I am obsessed with (mostly) blackheads on my bf’s back! If we are swimming together, I try to feel around and look for any blackheads that I can squeeze out. There is so much satisfaction from clearing them off his back. He let’s me do it if he’s in a good mood, if not, he won’t let me get near!
I also have him squeeze any pimples or blackheads on my back, too. I used to think I was the only one who was obsessed like this, and I’m glad to know I’m not!
Amanda says
definitely a liberating thing to release the inner goo. gross i know. I used to be obsessed with popping zits when I had them, then my skin cleared up and I became obsessed with anything that wasnt even a pimple. So no I do it to my husband, who has the endurance to never pop one himself and I literally have to beg him to let me do it. he hates it and it never fails that everytime I do queeze his, he says “I hate my life” lol
acnesolution says
HAHA! popping pimple can be addicting.Sooo satisfying. I also used to pop mine when they appeared but iI wouldn’t touch anyone else’s zits. I sooo love this post Karen 🙂 Hilarious!
Keep up the good work. God Bless 🙂