Just realized I was using extraction wrong for years

I was doing extractions on a client with stubborn comedones yesterday and nearly gave up after 10 minutes. Then my coworker pointed out I was pressing too hard and not angling my tools right, and the stuff came out way easier. Has anyone else had a random lightbulb moment about a basic technique they thought they had down?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.anna9d agoTop Commenter

The angle thing is a game changer for sure. Took me a solid year of extractions before a coworker finally showed me the right way to hold the loop. Felt pretty dumb standing there with a product I'd been using wrong the whole time. But hey, once you know, you know.

troyknight9d ago

Used to think you just had to muscle through stubborn ones but yeah, a small angle tweak makes a world of difference. Changed my whole approach after that.

anthonynelson9d ago

I'm curious what the exact angle change was though. Were you tilting the loop more vertical or flatter against the skin? I still catch myself going too steep and digging in instead of letting the edge do the work. It's one of those things where someone says "just change the angle" but nobody ever gives you the actual degrees or visual reference. My mentor used to say almost parallel to the skin but then I'd get no pressure at all. Seems like there's a sweet spot that everyone just discovers through trial and error.