What Is Acne Excoriée? Experts Explain The Skin-Picking Condition And How To Treat It

It’s where it becomes dangerous to pop pimples.

Acne is one of the most annoying skin problems, and almost everyone has some trouble with it. Acne can lead to a lot of different conditions and behaviours, like popping pimples in the mirror or trying every trick in the book to get rid of it. However, one condition takes these actions to a whole new level.

It’s called acne excoriée, and it can be a serious problem. Here’s what you need to know about taking care of your skin.

What Is Acne Excoriée?

If you’ve never heard of acne excoriée, it’s a skin condition in which someone picks, scratches, or squeezes acne or pimples over and over again, leaving scabs, scars, and discoloration, says by doctor a board-certified multi-specialist physician. The condition is more common in teenage girls than in boys, and it is often linked to depression, anxiety, OCD, body dysmorphia, or emotional triggers.

It’s more common than you might think. It’s sometimes called “pickers’ acne.” Doctor says that’s because people don’t report enough data and also because it’s not a well-known idea. A study in the 2020 Journal of Psychiatric Research of a population that was representative of the US showed that 3.1% of females said they had skin-picking disorder for their whole lives.

How To Know You Have Acne Excoriée

It happens when people pick at their skin over and over again. Doctor says that it comes from being used to it. “Life stressors, trait disorders, and learned behaviours can all play a role,”

It’s pretty common to pick at acne, so it can be hard to know when you’ve crossed the line into something that could be bad for your health. Just remember that the Doctor says it’s never good for your skin because it can cause infections and scars.

It’s totally fine to pop your pimples every now and then. “It’s unhealthy when you can’t stop and it turns into a habit. There is a difference between popping one or two pimples every now and then and spending hours in front of the mirror picking at your skin and every flaw.”

If you feel like your skin-picking is getting out of hand, both experts say you should talk to a doctor or esthetician who knows more than just the basics about dermatological skin conditions.

“One should do their research and talk to a lot of people, ” says the doctor. “I’ve seen many patients go undiagnosed, but it’s easy to figure out what’s wrong with someone with a trained eye. When I tell a patient, “It looks like you’ve been picking at your skin,” they admit it right away and say it’s a habit.

Can Acne Excoriée Be Treated?

Yes, it can be treated by a combination of self-management, keeping the skin clean to avoid infections, therapy, and changes in behaviour. Doctor says that the psychological part of it can come and go depending on the person’s life and triggers, so it might take a while to get through. The best thing to do if you have acne excoriée is to get rid of anything that could be a trigger, like a close-up mirror or at-home extraction tools.

You wear gloves or mittens when you can, keep your fingernails short, get a fidget toy, write in a journal to hold yourself accountable, and ice your skin if you feel the urge to pick at it.

In the end, you can only get better if you stop picking.