Afrogal asks…Recently I popped one of my pimples and a big lump formed on my forehead. I’m starting to wonder whether it is going to go away. Are moles genetic or can they appear when you pop pimples or have bad skincare routine?
The Right Brain responds:
Moles are not caused by popping pimples or by by anything you’re doing with your skin care routine. Cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing the skin only affects the upper layer of skin called the stratum corneum.
What causes moles?
Moles are formed in the epidermis, a deeper layer of skin. There, cells called melanocytes produce the melanin (the brown pigment that gives your skin its color.) Sometimes these melanocytes start to overproduce and grow together in clumps. This over growth of cells is what causes a mole to appear. This over growth can be triggered by combination of genetic factors and exposure to the sun. But your skin care products are not a problem.
Why does popping pimples make skin look dark?
Are you seeing some darkened skin after pimple popping? That could be from hyperpimentation which is, as SarahF pointed out in our Forum, usually flat, not lumpy, but darker than the rest of your skin. It will eventually fade, but you can help it along with fade creams. Some experts think the hyperpigmentation you get from the sun (aka melasma–which is different from moles) and so-called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (what persists after a pimple) are actually caused by the same underlying process, inflammation. (Thanks Sarah!)
Image credit: static.neatoshop.com (Do you like how we continued the “plush microbe” theme from our post on Natural Preservatives? That was where Sarah Bellum got excited about plush representations of STDs!)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Not a doctor and this is the internet, so take my advice for what it is, free and nosy. It sounds like during the extraction it was done wrong (Everyone tells you not to pop. Everyone pops. It’s like picking our noses. Okay, some people don’t).
An extraction of a huge cyst-like pimple should be done by a dermatologist. If you did, what I think you did, you introduced more germs into the wound, and they’re very infected. If you feel like a unicorn, go to the doc. There they can drain this cyst from hell and make it looks tons better.
At home, I would normally apply tea tree oil, neat. One of the few essential oils with proven zit zap power. However, if you have any sort of open wound. Forget about it. The doc.
This message brought to you by someone with no formal training in any of this. However, someone who has fought the zit fight and lost, since I was 13. I’m 48 now. Still breaking out. Gag.
Keep in mind, too, that pigmented lesions that appear on your face as you get older MAY (and I am not a doctor either) be seborrheic keratoses. They are benign, but they can be cosmetically bothersome. But if you see a new pigmented lesion and you aren’t sure what it is, show it to a dermatologist. Public service announcement: everyone should have their skin checked every year by a physician, and show that physician anything that looks new, unfamiliar or concerning to you.