A Derm's Best Advice On How To Finally Stop Picking Your Zits — Thank Us Later

If you've had acne at any point in your life (raises hand), you likely know how tempting it is to go to town on your face. With each clogged pore or raised pimple comes the intense desire to start squeezing and prodding. 

The thing is, many of us know how bad this habit is: Picking prolongs the life of the wound and can leave a scar or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. How many times have skin care experts espoused the advice to stop popping zits? And just because you know something to be true does not make it easy to follow up with the appropriate actions: Even the best trained among us still succumb to overactive fingers.

Turns out, most of us do most of the damage in the evening, as we usually have more time to wind down, spend more time on our skin care routines, and are parked in front of the mirror for longer. "For most people, picking happens at night and in front of a mirror," he says.

The best way to make sure you're not tempted is to remove yourself from the situation. "If you pick at night, you need to get out of the bathroom as soon as possible," he says. "Do your skin care, brush your teeth, and get out." If you know that you're feeling a certain way going into your nighttime routine, make a mental note to keep things quick. Often, the best thing we can do for our skin is the bare minimum.