14 replies to this topic

[CeeBee25]

I'm currently dealing with a big scab on my chin left over from popping a cystic pimple yesterday. This happens all too regularly for me

It's pretty big and covers a large part of my chin because a lot of the skin around the cyst was damamged the area is completely flat now and I've been taking ibuprofen to stop any pain, but it's bright red.

I've just applied some 99.9% aloe vera gel to the scab and I'm leaving it alone. I guess this is just a place for me to vent and to remind myself NOT to pick at the scab, because I'm really worried this one will leave a big scar

Have any of you been in a similar situation to this and managed not to pick? I usually pick when I'm upset/worried and today is a stressful week for me as I'm finishing my final dissertation work at university (at home so I can hide for a while) so I'm hoping I don't give in to pressure.

Any advice/stories/words of advice would be much appreciated

[Battle2011]

I'd go for the bandaid, really. You can't pick what you don't see!

[whatthekell]

i'm a horrible picker. i had a little one on my temple saturday and barely even squeezed and somehow left a huge bruised/scab there. it's still not gone. i did find a really handy weapon for these moments though. Clean & Clear Popped Pimple Cream. this thing is awesome! put this on after you pop a zit and it helps dry it out and form a scab. the next day you should see a reduction in size and redness. by the second day you should be able to peel off the scab and only have a little red dot. i love it! it didn't do much for my temple because that was more like a wound than a pimple scab. so that i'm dealing with. the other thing is, if you try to pop a zit and fail...this stuff really is amazing at bringing it to a head. but what we both should do is stop picking all together. i'm currently struggling with this and wearing a rubber band on my wrist to snap when i have temptations. so far it's not working lol. but i'm still trying.

[CeeBee25]

I'd go for the bandaid, really. You can't pick what you don't see!

I'll be wearing a band aid this evening, but I'm wearing some make up right now so I don't want to stick a band aid over it incase I clog my pores. I have a tendancy of breaking out under the band aid if I wear them all day long so I'll keep it off until tonight. I haven't looked in a mirror the past few hours so I'm doing okay.

i'm a horrible picker. i had a little one on my temple saturday and barely even squeezed and somehow left a huge bruised/scab there. it's still not gone. i did find a really handy weapon for these moments though. Clean & Clear Popped Pimple Cream. this thing is awesome! put this on after you pop a zit and it helps dry it out and form a scab. the next day you should see a reduction in size and redness. by the second day you should be able to peel off the scab and only have a little red dot. i love it! it didn't do much for my temple because that was more like a wound than a pimple scab. so that i'm dealing with. the other thing is, if you try to pop a zit and fail...this stuff really is amazing at bringing it to a head. but what we both should do is stop picking all together. i'm currently struggling with this and wearing a rubber band on my wrist to snap when i have temptations. so far it's not working lol. but i'm still trying.

Thanks for the advice I'll have to test that out. I'm usually not to bad with picking my smaller pimples, I used Clinique's Anti-Blemish Solutions clearing gel which contains salicylic acid and then put a tiny dot of BP on top and this usually reduces all my spots overnight so they can be easily covered up. My main issue is messing with cysts (I get around 1 a month) usually on my chin, I try to ignore them but they just get bigger and more painful until I'm forced to pop them

Then I end up with messed up skin and a huge scab which usually takes over a week to heal! The hard part is not picking once a scab has formed, this is where I usually make things worse. I haven't messed with it yet though and I'm determined not to because I don't want a scar. We should just remember that a scab is there in order to HELP our skin heal, and by picking at it we're causing damage which could easily be avoided! Hope you manage to stop your picking habits too

[whatthekell]

thank you! i really hope so too. it's destroying my life. =( when you get a cyst, have you ever tried icing it? sometimes if you do that when you catch it early, it'll prevent it from getting any bigger. another good home remedy for after you've popped a cyst and have an open wound, honey. put some honey on it for a half hour or so. you won't see immediate results but i notice a difference the next day. it makes the skin softer too so you can put makeup on it. =)

[CeeBee25]

thank you! i really hope so too. it's destroying my life. =( when you get a cyst, have you ever tried icing it? sometimes if you do that when you catch it early, it'll prevent it from getting any bigger. another good home remedy for after you've popped a cyst and have an open wound, honey. put some honey on it for a half hour or so. you won't see immediate results but i notice a difference the next day. it makes the skin softer too so you can put makeup on it. =)

I know the feeling I'm only 21 but my picking habit has stopped me from doing so many things over the years, even though I know it shouldn't.

Yeah I try ice and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Just one of those things I guess! I think the deeper, hormonal cysts can't be prevented no matter what I try, they will always surface. I have some honey so I wil try that tonight Pure aloe gel is also my saviour for healing skin/scabs! It really soothes it too and stops the pain or itchiness as it heals.

[CeeBee25]

Just an update (for myself if not anyone else).. today is still a flat red scab, but it doesn't look as bumpy or as sore as yesterday. Still haven't picked and I'm determined not to today! Slept with antiseptic healing cream (Sudocrem) over it with a band aid. This morning I've just gently washed it in the shower and I'm going to apply aloe gel then leave it be.

[whatthekell]

good girl! =) yea nip this in the bud while you're still young. I'm gonna be 26 soon so I have already wasted a lot of time hiding in because of it. I haven't picked in a few days and I feel good.

[CeeBee25]

good girl! =) yea nip this in the bud while you're still young. I'm gonna be 26 soon so I have already wasted a lot of time hiding in because of it. I haven't picked in a few days and I feel good.

Well done for not picking! I just washed my face, and half of my scab came off by itself.. so half of it still remains. The skin underneath where the scab was is pink and shiny but it's not sore or broken, does this mean it's new skin? I'm leaving the other half of the scab on until it's ready to fall off naturally and then hopefully I can work on fading the redness of the new skin underneath...

[whatthekell]

wow you have more patience than i do =P i would have ripped the other half off haha. yes, the pink and shiny skin is the new skin. it will eventually grow smaller and smaller and then you might be left with a little dot of hyperpigmentation that will go away in a few more weeks. very easy to cover too =) what do you do for little pimples? do you just leave them alone til they pop themselves?

[CeeBee25]

wow you have more patience than i do =P i would have ripped the other half off haha. yes, the pink and shiny skin is the new skin. it will eventually grow smaller and smaller and then you might be left with a little dot of hyperpigmentation that will go away in a few more weeks. very easy to cover too =) what do you do for little pimples? do you just leave them alone til they pop themselves?

Haha, I usually do rip the skin the scab off! But I'm so determined not to this time, I'm moving away to live in Vancouver in 3 weeks time with my boyfriend and I don't want messed up skin which I have picked and picked, this is my motivation!

The second half of the scab peeled off this morning after I got out of the shower, so now the whole area is just red skin. It looks kinda wrinkly in some lights, but I guess this is because the new skin is still growing.. It's still red too but not sore at all, so I should be able to cover it up

With smaller pimples, I tend to treat them early and (luckily) they usually don't develop a head. I'm more prone to the red, tender kinda spots rather than blackheads and whiteheads. When I feel a pimple coming up or if I wake up with one, after washing my face I apply a dab of Clinique anti-blemish solutions spot treatment gel. It contains salicylic acid and isn't too harsh on the skin, it just forms an invisable band aid over the pimple so I can apply make up over it! And it really helps with shrinking and drying up the pimple throughout the day worth a try if you've never tried it, I recommend it!

If I ever do get a head to my pimples, I pop them with a sterilized needle, wash it, apply some antiseptic cream and usually in the morning I'll have a small scab which will fall off after 2 - 3 days

How about you?

[whatthekell]

good luck in moving in with your boyfriend! i think my obsession with picking really increased when i moved in with my boyfriend because i was so determined to look good around him. which doesn't make sense at all i know. because when you pick, you just create a mess! but for some reason i didn't get that.
anyway, in the past i would use a needle or an extractor and dig everything out of my skin whether it was ready or not. HORRIBLE. but now i've gotten better and really try to only pop the ones that are begging for it. my boyfriend's dad really has me on this strict regimen of no products and really does not want me popping them, but sometimes you just have to. i just popped a little one on my chin that has been there foreverrr and a nasty blackhead on the corner of my nose. i know he's going to be upset with me, but sometimes if you don't pop them, they just get bigger and bigger! but i do the same, i use a needle and then i use 2 tissues around my fingers and try to press lightly around because i'm prone to bruising and scabbing. i think i did a good job on these today lol. then i have clean and clear popped pimple cream which i love. i usually put that on night to heal it faster. i've never tried the clinique. but like i said, i am not allowed to use anything right now lol. the only thing i use is some neutrogena soap, and i think i might be allergic to it! i wake up every morning with these itchy little red bumps that look like pimples, but they usually go away throughout the day. weird. =P

[CeeBee25]

good luck in moving in with your boyfriend! i think my obsession with picking really increased when i moved in with my boyfriend because i was so determined to look good around him. which doesn't make sense at all i know. because when you pick, you just create a mess! but for some reason i didn't get that.
anyway, in the past i would use a needle or an extractor and dig everything out of my skin whether it was ready or not. HORRIBLE. but now i've gotten better and really try to only pop the ones that are begging for it. my boyfriend's dad really has me on this strict regimen of no products and really does not want me popping them, but sometimes you just have to. i just popped a little one on my chin that has been there foreverrr and a nasty blackhead on the corner of my nose. i know he's going to be upset with me, but sometimes if you don't pop them, they just get bigger and bigger! but i do the same, i use a needle and then i use 2 tissues around my fingers and try to press lightly around because i'm prone to bruising and scabbing. i think i did a good job on these today lol. then i have clean and clear popped pimple cream which i love. i usually put that on night to heal it faster. i've never tried the clinique. but like i said, i am not allowed to use anything right now lol. the only thing i use is some neutrogena soap, and i think i might be allergic to it! i wake up every morning with these itchy little red bumps that look like pimples, but they usually go away throughout the day. weird. =P

Thank you so much That's a shame! I'm the opposite actually, I tend to only pick my face when I'm bored/stressed/alone, so been with someone keeps my mind occupied and I never find the time to pick or mess with my face when I'm staying over at my boyfriends. We've been together for 2 years now and he's very aware of my struggle with acne and picking, but over the last 6 months I've got so much better with trying not to pick - fingers crossed I can keep it up!!

I feel the same way, if my acne products don't begin to shrink a pimple within a week, I usually pop it with a needle. Then it's gone within a few days I try to avoid popping things as much as I can though! Good luck with the no products thing I've just started using some organic African black soap last night/this morning and it's made my skin feel great so far! Hope it doesn't break me out. As for the cyst scab, it's improved so much since I first made the post. Still healing and a little scabby, but the skin is a light pink colour now and I can cover it up easily Hopefully in another few days it'll be gone!

[whatthekell]

yea my picking always takes place when my bf isn't at home and i'm alone for hours and hours. like today! guhh =( depressing. but i didn't mess my face up too bad. i'm getting better at only popping ones that are ready and they're all very tiny except for one on my chin so they'll be gone soon. hopefully =)

i've heard good things about that african black soap. last night i switched to basis sensitive skin bar because i think i am allergic to the neutrogena that i was using. so far so good.

glad your chin is healing =) i had a tiny scab today that i picked and now i'm hating myself for it. you'd think i'd learn my lesson by now!

that's great your boyfriend is supportive of your picking habit, or past picking habit =P mine is great too. he just gave me a good pep talk and said that great things don't happen overnight. and he said my skin looks so much better than when i was using BP and other shit and he said at least your face isn't flaking and peeling off. he's so right. when i was on dan's regimen, for 8 months my face was so crusty, disgusting, and brown. bluh! so i have to look on the brighter side =)

[iskaestar]

I guess the fact that you posted something instead of picking it is the best thing you could do in that situation. When I have a big one in a highly visible place and leave it alone, I continue to leave it alone just because I've left it alone up until that point. It's like I don't want my self control to go to waste!