Stop Picking At Your Skin: The Emme Diane No Picking Agreement

March 03, 2020
Posted by Emily Linehan
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When you have an alien growing on your face, it can be hard to keep your hands off. However, picking at your skin or constantly trying to pop your pimples will backfire on you, creating larger breakouts that take months to heal (and may cause scarring!)

It can be hard to break this habit, but in order to successfully clear your skin, it is essential that you avoid picking your skin. Here are my best tips on how to break this habit so that you can finally have the clear and even-toned skin of your dreams!

1. Understand what happens when you pick your skin

When you pick your skin, it pushes bacteria deeper into the follicle, bursting the follicle wall and infecting the surrounding pores. While this trauma will cause new breakouts to form, it will also create an oozing scab which is much harder to conceal with makeup than a closed bump from a blemish!

2. Identify what kind of picker you are

Unconscious Picker: You casually touch or are picking at your face while using the computer, reading a book, or watching television. This is a very dangerous type of picking because you often won’t realize you’re doing it.

Bathroom Mirror Picker: You go in to grab the floss and end up spending 15 minutes in front of the mirror, picking and popping.

Fidgety Idle Picker: You pick while you’re on the phone or in traffic, especially when nervous, restless or anxious. Unlike the Unconscious Picker, you are aware that you are picking and it feels compulsive.

3. Decide what tips and methods will help you most

Here are a number of tips and methods to prevent picking at your skin:

Instead of picking, ice those pimples for 1 minute, twice a day. This will help tremendously with clearing your skin.
Use The Pink Potion as a spot treatment so that you feel like you are taking action to clear the pimple.
Keep your hands busy. Play with a fidget toy or squeeze a stress ball while you’re waiting in line. Give yourself a moisturizing hand treatment with lotion/paraffin and gloves while you watch television.
Place signs that say “NO PICKING” on your bathroom mirror, in your compact mirror, on the TV remote, on your car visor mirror or rear-view mirror... wherever you are likely to see them when you start to pick!
Only use a night light in your bathroom to perform your skincare routine. This is especially helpful if you are a nighttime bathroom picker since you are less likely to pick if you can't clearly see the pimples.
Wear gloves. It may sound silly, but it will be impossible to pick your face while wearing gloves. You can wear them when you are driving or while you sleep, too! (if you tend to sleep with your face on your hands.) Just be sure to wash the gloves regularly.
Get your nails done. It is more difficult to pick your skin if you have acrylic, silk or gel nails.
Avoid putting your hands on your face. Avoid resting your head in your hands (such as a hand on one cheek or 2 hands-on both cheeks) when sitting at a table or desk.
Put your hands in your pockets when you are walking between places.
While sitting down on a chair, put your hands under your thighs and sit on them. This may seem silly but it helps with the need to touch your face. You can do this during a job interview or other public places, like a restaurant.
Get other people involved. A close friend, parent, or roommate can be a very valuable asset. Ask them to gently remind you of your “No Picking Agreement” if they notice you touching your face.