In my experience, my skin actually heals faster and the resulting redness or dark spots fade sooner if I extract them myself. A few months ago, I began using tretinoin and vowed to stop picking at my face entirely. However, I noticed that my breakouts were lingering for weeks. A couple of nights ago, I gave in and squeezed a few blemishes and blackheads. To my surprise, those spots have already cleared up and the marks are gone, while the older acne I left alone still shows visible hyperpigmentation.
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When I pick the right blemish at the right time and use good aftercare, they definitely recover quicker with fewer marks. I’ve definitely made some bad calls before, though! My boyfriend deals with cystic acne that lasts for months, and the only solution seems to be extracting them at the right stage. Even getting steroid injections from a dermatologist only works temporarily before they return.
If I skip popping a whitehead, it sometimes seems to harden into a deep, painful red bump that won’t go away for weeks. But if I handle it correctly when it’s ready, it flattens out and the redness disappears way faster.
Popping a whitehead definitely speeds up the healing process and reduces the pain for me. That said, I think some people use way too much force when they do it. It shouldn’t require that much pressure. Also, picking is different from popping; picking definitely leads to scars. I’d also suggest never touching sebaceous filaments—just use topical products for those, as squeezing them just makes them look worse.