As you reach your mirror, you spot one angry-looking acne. All red, swollen and hey, there’s a lil’ white tip on it, maybe I can pop it, you thought to yourself. Here’s the hard truth: you shouldn’t be touching your acne at all no matter how ‘cooked’ and ‘ready for popping’ they look. Actually, you shouldn’t be touching your face too often either because your hands contain various bacteria that can cause pimples on your skin.

But, Why Not?
When you pop your zit, you might push the bacteria and pus deeper into your skin, causing swelling and redness. In some cases, there are still remaining pus sitting on your skin, causing the acne to come back, bigger and angrier… Worst case scenario is you pop your acne so hard that you scratch the surface layer of your skin, causing acne scars. Acne scars can come in various forms, some can look hollow, dark spots or even red spots.

So How To Deal With Acne? Here Are 6 Tips To Avoid Upsetting Your Acne:

#1 Never skip washing your face
Even when you’re home, your skin is still exposed to the nasties such as oil, debris and many other bacteria that could land on your skin. Even better, double cleanse your face so you can get your skin almost 100% clean. Only double cleanse at night so you won’t be over-cleansing your skin which may lead to dryness.

#2 Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise
Another skincare myth that needs to be debunked: Oily skin doesn’t need any moisturiser. That’s totally wrong! Contrary to popular belief, your skin still needs moisturiser to reduce the loss of hydration even when it’s oily and acne-prone.

#3 Cover your acne with a pimple patch
If you’re the ‘gatal tangan’ type and just can’t help but touch your acne, cover it up with an acne patch. It will prevent your acne from getting infected, keeping it sterilised until it pops out on its own. They even come in different sizes and some even come in makeup friendly form, you can layer your foundation on top because it’s not visible! Pretty cool, right?

#4 Use acne spot treatment
Alternatively, you can apply acne spot treatment on your pimples, so they can zap quickly. Look out for any of these ingredients: Benzoyl Peroxide, Succinic Acid, Salicylic Acid and  Alpha Hydroxy Acids. These ingredients will help to kill the bacteria, reduce inflammation and remove excess oils and dead skin.

#5 Switch your pillowcases
When was the last time you changed your pillowcase? It’s best to clean your pillowcase every week to avoid cross-contamination between your skin and your pillowcase. After all, we always spend hours resting on our pillowcases so it makes sense to change it often.

#6 Avoid comedogenic products
You should avoid using skincare and makeup products that clog your pores, no matter how ‘good’ they are. Whether it’s a comedogenic moisturiser or comedogenic sunscreen and many more, just stop using them once you find out that they’re comedogenic. Lucky for you, Velvet Vanity products are non-comedogenic. Get our pore-blurring gel blush, the Glo With The Flo, that comes in four beautiful colours: Millennial Pink (Delicate Pink), Peach, What? (Natural Peach), House Party (Muted Rose) and Gift Wrap (Muted Coral).

Did we lure you in with the title? Oops! All in all, no matter how tempting it is to pop your acne, you should really try your best to avoid it at all costs. Stay away from puncturing your acne with a needle, that’s even worse than popping it using your fingers!

According to dermatologists, once you pop it, the gunk (bacteria, oil and debris) in your acne will be released and could potentially lead to even more acne. Only clean it up if it pops on its own (with clean tissue and clean hands).

Here’s the thing about acne, pimples, pustules, blackheads, whiteheads; they’re all normal! There’s nothing to be ashamed of because it’s just a sign that you’re a normal human being. Everything ‘perfect’ that you see on social media and ads is the final result of long hours of professional editing. Textured skin is totally normal and it’s never cool to point out other people’s skin conditions, OK? Embrace your skin, it’s uniquely you!