High heels. Plucking. Waxing. Hot rollers. Even hotter flat irons. Underwire bras. We all know that sometimes, it hurts to be beautiful, but should it ever be this painful?

Here we have the blackhead extractor/whitehead lancet combo, a steel monster available under various names at various beauty supply shops, which will remain nameless here. The looped head of the blackhead extractor is scary enough; apparently you press it onto your skin after a good steaming and force the black stuff out of its hiding place. Sounds easy enough, except for the painful red circle usually left on your face after such treatment. And often, the stubborn blackhead stays put even after all this maneuvering.

Even more frightening is the opposite end, a surgical-looking stainless-steel lancet used to "pierce whiteheads" (this verbiage is from a wholesaler's website, which also warns that the Skin Care Tool may cause injury if used improperly). What? Haven't we all been told by our dermatologists, not to mention our mothers, never to pick or squeeze our pimples? I would think that slicing them off with a metal implement is even worse. Imagine the pock mark if you slipped up by even a millimeter!

Why on earth would anyone want to risk digging a hole into their face just to get rid of a pimple? Dab on some BPO gel and head to your facialist or dermatologist. Let their skilled hands wield these scary, pointy objects while you lie blissfully in the chair...preferably with your eyes closed. Just don't try this at home!