If your New Years' resolution is to focus on skincare and incorporate handy hacks and beauty trends into daily routine, do we have news for you!
That's because this week, one globally-renowned dermatologist has spoken out about the neat tips and tricks you can instil into your skincare regimen, which can help prevent breakouts and promote clearer, glowing skin.
But according to Dr Samantha Ellis - a social media expert based in California - there's one practice guaranteed to provide healthier skin that no amount of hyaluronic acid and exfoliator can match.
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Taking to TikTok earlier this week, the medical pro issued a stark warning about popping pimples, calling viewers' attention to one particular type of spot.
Dr Ellis - who is also founder of skincare brand Prequel Skin - told her online followers that cystic pimples - the larger types of spots that develop under the skin - should not be squeezed under any circumstances.
Delving into the stomach-churning horror that could unfold if you do attempt to pop one of these bad boys, the doctor showed a cystic spot growing on her own cheek.
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"Do not mess around with pimples like these," she explained, pointing out the deep, red pimple on the side of her left cheek.
"As a dermatologist, I would consider this cystic. It is deep, it's like an iceberg.
"We're seeing 10 per cent of it on the surface of the skin and the rest is down below."
According to Cleveland Clinic, these types of pimples fall under the 'inflammatory' acne category and can often be extremely difficult to treat.
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One of these spots generally requires a topical solution in order to disappear, and oral antibiotics and cortisone injections have also been prescribed by doctors to treat this form of acne.
Dr Ellis tells her viewers in the now-viral video that although these forms of spot can be the 'most tempting' to squeeze the puss out of, you should steer clear in order to prevent further damage.
"They are painful, they feel juicy, like, it feels like it's going to be satisfying, but it won't be," she warned.
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"Because of how deep these are, when you squeeze on this, the chance that you get most of that gunk out is actually pretty low.
"And what you're really going to do is drive that stuff deeper down into the skin."
Ailments including 'inflammation, irritation and permanent scarring' can be caused be squeezing these such spots, and also have the potential to trigger infection.
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"So, if I can't convince you to not pop any of your pimples, at least don't pop the cystic ones," she concluded the video. "Choose your battles wisely."
The TikTok has roused much discussion from followers about their own skin-care predicaments, with many opting to share their own spot-squeezing horror stories.
"I had a bad one on my jawline & I'm a chronic skin picker so I picked and popped it so much that it left a dark scar," one person commented below.
A second explained: "I had one like this after wearing masks at work. It became a cyst that needed surgical incision removal and now I have a nice indented scar! Don't touch them! Also it was literally tiny before."
"I had one of those on the inside of my thigh, squeezed it really hard, got infected and well it wasn't fun," a third penned.
Topics: Beauty, Fashion, Hacks, Skincare, Social media, Style, TikTok, Health
Rhianna Benson