My take on the 'no extractions' trend from a recent convention in Atlanta

Last week at the big skincare show in Atlanta, every other booth was pushing this idea that manual extractions are always harmful and should be avoided. I've been doing this for 3 years now, and I saw a client just last month who had deep, painful cysts that a chemical peel alone wouldn't touch. After a careful, sterile extraction, her relief was instant (she actually said 'thank you, that pressure was awful'). I think throwing out a whole skill set because some people do it wrong is a mistake. Has anyone else found a balanced approach that still uses extractions when needed?

4 comments

4 Comments

murray.pat28d agoMost Upvoted

Totally agree with you. Saw the same push at a show last year and it drove me nuts. I still do extractions on maybe 20% of my clients, but only when there's a clear plug visible and the skin is properly prepped. It's a tool, not the enemy.

miaprice27d agoMost Upvoted

Exactly. Tools aren't the problem, people are.

evafoster28d ago

Ugh, preach. It's like saying you should never use a bandage because some people put them on dirty cuts. Last year I had a client with these huge, obvious blackheads all over her nose, the kind you can see from across the room. A salicylic acid treatment wasn't going to magically lift those out. After steaming and using a sterile tool, they popped right out and her skin was so much smoother. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is just bad practice.

oliver_baker4911d ago

Yeah, my friend went to a new place that swore by that no-extraction rule. She had one of those deep, angry spots on her chin for a solid week (you know, the kind that just throbs). They did a fancy mask and sent her home, but it just got worse. She finally went to her old tech who gently cleared it, and the thing was flat in two days. It's crazy to me to ignore a tool that can give real relief just because it's not trendy right now.