Popaholics are having a moment, thanks in large part to Sandra Lee.
Thedermatologic and cosmetic surgeonbased out of Southern California struck gold or should we say blackheads?
with her viralpimple poppingvideos, and made this guilty pleasure a little less guilty.
No longer do popaholics need to feel ashamed of their fascination with skin extractions.
That’s a lot of popaholics!
To squeeze or not squeeze?
Should you ever pop at home?
Pimple Popper websiteas the same utensil Lee uses in her videos and squeeze out your own blackheads and whiteheads.
But should you?Nylonreported that all the skin care professionals they spoke to advisedagainsthome extractions.
Some believe amateur poppers are less likely to cleanse the treatment area beforehand and disinfect afterward.
Needless to say, Lee doesn’t agree with those who believe comedone extractors can damage the skin.
“That is B.S.,” she toldMental Floss.
Popaholics tend to have the constant urge to pick skin.
She toldThe One with Greg Gutfeldthat she doesn’t.
The pain inflicted and lack of cleanliness involved disgusts her.
They all kind of gross me out!
She’s one of us!'
but I’m not really.
I mean, I like it, but I don’t need it."
She toldBroadlythat she gets recognized so often in public that she wears a hat to the grocery store.
But Lee isn’t entirely comfortable with these types of patients.
“It puts a lot of pressure on me,” she told Broadly.
I don’t proclaim I can do that, though it is quite amazing."
Sounds like a good problem to have.
She gets repulsed by stomach churning procedures every now and then like the rest of us.
Inflamed and infected cysts.
And then there are abscesses, which “are very liquid-y and can squirt you.
It ruins your day if you get it in your hair.”
The reason Lee hides her disgust is because she wants to confirm her patients feel as comfortable as possible.
So then why would anyone let Dr. Pimple Popper film their blemishes for millions to see online?
The same reason we do many things in life: Money.
“Of course, I make them anonymous and remove anything identifying.
Literally, they all say yes.”
It’s totally a win-win situation!
“My patients win, because they get the blackheads removed for free.
I win, because I get to take it out and put the video on YouTube.”
She provides services such as botox, fillers, liposuction, eye lifts and skin cancer surgery.
And as she toldMental Floss, it’s a more “self-conscious” clientele.
Little known fact: Most dermatologists do very little popping.
That’s more of an aesthetician thing.
“That’s really a small part of what I do as a dermatologist,” Lee said.
“… My love, or what I like about dermatology, is doing surgery.”
She now has a team helping her.
“They’re my patients, and I take a stab at keep them private and anonymous.
If (the team leaves) something in accidentally, then I’ll feel really bad.
But it’s harder and harder to (do every video).”
The reality show will prove to be an even bigger test for Lee.
I am a control freak for sure."
She wants to avoid the wrath ofYouTube, according toThe Cut.
“They were considered ‘gory, disgusting and for shock value.’
“I fought back.
I was like, ‘That’s not what this is.
I’m a dermatologist.
This is what I do.’
I’m not doing this for shock value.
Honestly, it was insulting that they leave videos on of people getting shot or even porn.”
It appears Lee and YouTube have since mended the relationship, for the most part.
Lee’s father was also a dermatologist and exposed her to the profession at a young age.
It just became normal to me.
That explains a lot.
Her videos are being used as… bedtime lullabies?!
Who needs Ambien when you have Dr. Pimple Popper?
Lee said her oozing videos have been known to help viewers get some shut-eye.
The sound of her voice might have something to do with it.
But she doesn’t alter her voice to create that tingling effect many find relaxing.
Lee toldBroadlythat’s just how she talks.
Patients who suffer from obsessive skin-picking disorders also find the videos beneficial, according to Lee.
“There’s a sense of completion, of cleansing,” she toldLad Bible.
“It calms people with some obsessive compulsive tendencies.”
Hey, whatever works.
