Under no circumstances should picking at pimples be celebrated. Empathetically understood? Yes. But never celebrated. Then again, when it reminds you that one of the coolest, most beautiful celebrities—I’m looking at you, Florence Pugh—is just as susceptible to the extremely human skincare blunders as the rest of us, maybe we can muster a little bit of a celebration.
Pugh shared a close-up selfie to her Instagram Stories on Monday, March 31, in which she’s squinting at the camera behind a pair of sunglasses. (How cute is that beaded glasses chain?) At the bottom of the photo, she’s written, “Such random placements for spots (that I destroyed in a fit of excitement and panic) and I can’t even play connect the dots with them.” She seems to be referring to a couple of pimples on her forehead, chin, and neck. (Maybe a couple others?)
Who among us hasn’t, in some emotionally charged moment, felt we couldn’t keep our hands off a whitehead or blackhead and make a blemish even more blemish-y by popping or scratching at it, not deterred by all the times we’ve been told we’d only be making things worse? Not I. And not Pugh, clearly.
I do have questions, though. She mentions that she “can’t even play connect the dots with them,” which suggests that… sometimes she does, depending on the layout of the breakout? If so, and since she’s clearly willing to share her unfiltered skin with the world, I would hope she might be willing to share any pimple constellations she creates in the future.
But seriously, though—just a reminder: It really isn’t a great idea to go to town on your zits. Aside from risking hyperpigmentation and scars, popping a pimple means “the bacteria, oil, and debris that are being contained by the acne papule, pustule or cyst, once released, can spread and lead to more acne,” board-certified dermatologist Sejal Shah, MD, previously told Allure. So try to keep your hands off your face.
