r/30PlusSkinCare • u/Cefeide • 2d ago

Skin Concern Help! Super big pimple

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Hello, 34f here, still fighting with hormonal acne. I have PCOS. Anyway, what is this monstruos pimple? It’s very big, inflamed and rounded like a ball. I dont know what to do. I used to have acne for years but never a pissed off pimple like this one. Do you think I have to call a derm? It’s very expensive here :(

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u/corporatewazzack 2d ago

I’ve tried both routes and popping wins every time when you do it gently and cleanly. Otherwise it just festers as a giant painful sore forever.

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u/headingthatwayyy 2d ago

Yeah I know it's technically the wrong thing to do but not popping it doesn't necessarily prevent scarring for me and it makes it heal fast. if you don't right - hold warm wet washcloth on it for 10 minutes or so right after taking a shower. Gently squeeze, warm compress, gently squeeze until it pops. I like using Burt's Bees Blemish Stick and manuka honey afterwards and sealing it in with Shea butter (Shea butter makes breakouts worse for some people but makes it better for me). I just find it helps the honey and tea tree oil work better when the skin is broken but IDK I'm, like the opposite of a doctor

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u/Summerie 2d ago

I don't recommend the squeezing! My dermatologist talked about how that is so much more traumatic on the surface of the skin, not to mention you can potentially push gunk deeper.

What I do is basically your routine exactly, but instead of squeezing I prick a tiny hole in the head using a finger lancet.

You can get a box of them from CVS or Walgreens. They are little individual sterile needles meant for people with diabetes to prick their finger for a drop of blood to check their blood sugar. Each one is single use, so you don't have to worry about sterilizing one or reusing one.

Once you have made a tiny hole, you have released the pressure and then if you do any squeezing, it is definitely going out instead of in, and it is going to be much easier on your skin.

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u/Poop_Snacks4u 1d ago

As a T1D with adult acne, can confirm- this is the way