Popping pimples is seriously frowned upon and not recommended by medical experts for obvious reasons. You can easily get an infection in the affected areas by not following similar procedure used by dermatologists and other skin experts with special tools.

With that said it is always best to seek professional help even if you have a tremendous urge to pop pimples in your own home. However; many acne sufferers are going to do it anyway so in this article I'll share some helpful tips on how to pop a pimple as safely as possible and minimize your risk of infection.

Here's what you'll need; rubbing alcohol, 100% cotton balls, a very thin sewing needle or pin, and Neutrogena facial cleansing soap.

In order to pop pimples safely, you should only consider popping only whitehead pimples when it's obvious they're ready; you'll be able to recognize this when the pimples have turned yellowish-white on the top and they look like tiny pus-filled sacs waiting and begging to escape!

Never try to pop a cyst, whenever there is redness and significant swelling in the area, or whenever the surrounding area of a pimple appears to be infected.

Start by cleaning the affected body area with the cleansing soap and warm water, and wash it well for a good minute or so to be on the safe side of keeping the area you'll work on free and clear from excessive oil, bacteria, and dead skin cells.

Take your needle or pin and carefully rub it with a cotton swab drenched in rubbing alcohol to sterilize the needle without getting poked in your fingers.

Carefully, gently, and slowly poke the pimple head in a sideways motion; don't ever poke down on the skin and never poke towards your eyes!

Take a cotton ball between each thumb and fore-finger, and gently but steadily squeeze the pus out with a slightly downward and sideways motion from each side.

Once the pus escapes fully, you'll see a little blood trickle out. Have a cotton ball ready to press on your skin for approximately 2-3 minutes or until the bleeding totally stops.

While popping pimples, always keep in mind that if you pick at and prod your pimples, or if you squeeze them before they are ready to pop, you will run the risk of infection.

Happy popping!