How to pop a pimple yourself, according to Dr. Pimple Popper's tips

• Insider producer Celia Skvaril spoke with Dr. Sandra Lee, aka Dr. Pimple Popper, to learn how people with pimple-popping habits can best reduce their chances of scarring and infection.
• In general, Lee recommends that people don't pop their own pimples, but she understands that many struggle to resist the urge.
• If attempting to pop your own zits, Lee says to go for only superficial whiteheads and to make sure to sterilize the area as well as your fingers or tools.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Celia Skvaril: Thank you so much for meeting with me today, virtually. It's very great to see another face. I hear we have something in common, and that being that we both pop a lot of pimples.

Sandra Lee: Oh, really? [laughs]

Celia: I have had this terrible breakout now since November. It's the worst breakout I've ever had. I don't know what's going on. So, I pop a lot of pimples, I don't think I'm doing it the right way. So I'm trying to get your help today on how I can best do it at home.

Lee: So, what I really recommend there is not to pick your pimples, because the issue is that when you pick them, first of all, if you pick them when they're too early, when they're just deep underneath there and you know there's something and you squeeze at it, it just makes it madder. It makes it bigger. And it makes it more problematic. And also there's a potential for scarring, which can be permanent, and infection, bigger infections. So I'm gonna say don't do it. But I know a lot of us can't help it because there's a lot of downtime and there's a lot of stress and anxiety. And these sort of things really make that picking kind of come to a height.

Celia: Say I say no to all of your advice and I want to pop a pimple.

Lee: OK. Celia: How do I know if it's ready to be popped? You said if it has, like, a whitehead.

Lee: If it's the most superficial to your skin, meaning that it is... there's a very thin layer of skin right over the pustule, that's the most ideal time to pop it, because it is gonna have less trauma. The deeper that you inflame or irritate your skin, like, the deeper you try to squeeze it, the deeper you try to poke something into some area of your skin, the more chance you have of having a permanent scar.

Celia: So, I do have, like, a superficial pimple right now. And I was hoping you could walk me through how I would pop it, if I can pop it with you on camera?

Lee: Well, can I see it first?

Celia: Yeah. Can you see that? It's just right -

Lee: Uh, I see a little bump there, but I don't think that's a pustule. It's just a bump. I just see a redness bump. But I'm gonna say I don't think you should do that. That is not at the stage that it is poppable, as far as I can see.

Celia: So, to be honest, that's not how I was expecting that to go. First of all, I learned that I've been popping a lot of pimples that were not ready to be popped. Dr. Lee does not think that anyone should be popping their pimples at home, regardless of the situation. I appreciate her honesty, and I also appreciate the fact that she understands there are people out there like me who can't control the habit. So she was nice enough to talk me through some steps that can help minimize scarring and infection. But that's not to say that those things still can't happen. The next time I have an urge to pop a pimple, I'm going to wait until it's superficial, and I'm going to follow Dr. Lee's tips to see if I see any less scarring or irritation compared to my usual pore-popping technique. So, I've been waiting a few days to see if I got one, and, indeed, I did get this little friend here on my chin. First things first: Here's what you need to do this. If you've got a comedone extractor, use that. But I'm assuming a lot of you don't, so Dr. Lee said you can use two Q-tips or your fingers wrapped around tissues. Besides that, you'll need a gentle face cleanser, I'm using the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, a washcloth, cotton balls or pads, rubbing alcohol, and a spot treatment.

Lee: Maybe take a shower, steam your face somehow in the shower or over steamed vegetables to make sure your skin is nice and soft so that your pores are dilated as much as they can be and relaxed, your skin feels good. After your skin is nice and soft and clean, your hands are clean, your instruments are clean, use alcohol on them. That's when you can use a comedone extractor, as I have here. And you want to apply pressure from all sort of directions and push on it. You don't have to push really hard. It can be painful. If it's a pimple, it's painful oftentimes. But try to push down on it. If you don't get it in one direction, you might try a different direction.

Celia: OK, so these aren't really working for me. But Dr. Pimple Popper said you could also use two clean tissues wrapped around your fingertips. And that might give me a little bit more traction and just control, where I feel like with the Q-tips I can't really control them. Two little ghosts. Ready to pop. Oh, wait.

Lee: The key is, if you feel like this is taking you longer than a minute, really, know when to stop. And it means that maybe this is not poppable.

Celia: Ooh! We got her. There she blows. [dramatic music] I just checked, and all of the whiteness is out. It's bleeding a little bit, and that's really normal for me. It's only a tiny bit, and my skin, I don't know how to say. I bleed very easily.

Lee: After you extract something, you can apply a little bit of antibiotic ointment to it, like a benzoyl peroxide spot treatment. You can even use a little Cortaid, a little cortisone, a little over-the-counter cortisone, because that can help to minimize the redness and inflammation.

Celia: I'm actually really surprised, because that didn't hurt at all. And usually when I'm popping a pimple, it hurts. And now I understand the difference, because that was completely painless. And it came out on its own. So, for any pimple poppers out there, if you're not able to curb the habit, hopefully these steps gave you a little bit of an idea on how to get less irritation.

Lee: Throw the magnifying mirror away! Nobody sees your skin like that! Nobody sees your skin looking like that. Only you do. And it's messing with your head.