Dr. Sandra Lee, more famously known as Dr. Pimple Popper on YouTube, has some of the most successful social media accounts on the Internet right now and certainly the nastiest! Amassing a somewhat unexpected fame, Dr. Lee has created a huge platform for people who absolutely love to indulge in cringeworthy pimple popping content — including huge blackhead extractions and splash-filled cyst removals.

Beyond just stomach-churning content, Dr. Lee has actually transformed the lives of countless patients. While it may be awesome to watch a lipoma the size of a grapefruit being extracted from someone’s back, it’s not so comfortable to live with one! Dr. Lee restores confidence and comfort, all while viewers get to enjoy the weirdest guilty pleasure ever.

In the beginning, Dr. Lee never imagined that her videos would take off quite the way they did, “I started an Instagram page at the end of 2014, to show a ‘window into my world’ as a dermatologist, and early on, I happened to post a ‘pimple popping’ video. I noticed it got a little jump in views. So I did it again, and it happened again. Then I put a blackhead extraction video on my YouTube channel and that got more and more attention, and it led me to discover that there was a whole community of people on the Internet who just like to watch shared videos,” she tells us.

Suddenly a trend was born! “They called them ‘popping’ videos, and most of them were ‘amateur’ — people in their homes or on vacation, popping pimples on a family member’s back, using no gloves, no sterile equipment, sometimes with dogs barking and beer cans on the coffee table. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is a thing,’ and I see this kind of stuff in my office and do this under sterile, office conditions. So, I posted more videos, mainly out of curiosity and fascination, to see how much traction it would get. Well, it certainly did get a lot of attention, and now in less than three years I have over 10 million followers on social media and almost two billion video views on my Youtube channel,” Dr. Lee explains.

As far as whether she’s still shocked (read: confused) at the success of her cringeworthy videos, she tells us, “I was initially surprised by the popularity of pimple popping, but now I’m not. I just think many people hid their love for watching pimple popping and now they are ‘out of the closet’ because they know that so many other people like watching the same thing.”

She explains, however, that not everyone is watching here content for the same reason, “I think there is part fascination, part ‘can’t look away, like watching a car accident,’ like something is being removed that shouldn’t be there and now the skin has been cleansed of an ‘impurity.’ I think in general, these videos make people feel ‘happy’ — they are actually very relaxing for many people, many say they watch my videos to help them relieve anxiety, even as a daily bedtime ritual. Also, there is a fascination, and people learn about their own skin and bodies, so I’m able to educate people about their own skin along the way. I like to call it ‘edu-tainment’ — education while entertaining.”

Part of that education is Dr. Lee’s understanding that acne is something that negatively effects many of her viewers. With that, she decided to launch “SLMD” — her very own skincare line! “This is really for people who can’t see a dermatologist or don’t have the time, or perhaps their insurance will not cover it,” she details.

That said, the products are still dermatologist quality, “These are products that contain the same ingredients that I prescribe to my own patients. In a way, my videos work with this too because I want to teach people why some of these products work and what they work on specifically. A good starting point is with my SLMD Acne System — a one stop shop to treat acne prone skin; and maintain results! My newest product, the SLMD Blemish Cream uses sulfur to treat blemishes, which is great for sensitive skin or those allergic to other acne treatments.”

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When I created the @slmdskincare Acne System, I knew it would WORK because these are ingredients that us Dermatologists approve & prescribe to our patients. I also knew that there were MANY skincare products out there so I was a bit nervous at first 🙈 but just hoped you all would TRUST me! I am so proud, grateful, and excited to see so many of you believing in me… believing in pimple popping and of course, believing in these products! The results speak for themselves and I am just thrilled knowing that SLMD has been able to help so many of you in such a short period of time. All of this is to say that something BIG is coming… TOMORROW. SOMETHING BIG IS COMING TOMORROW!!! I can’t tell you what it is yet, but it’s a skincare solution that MANY of you have been wanting for quite some time 😜 Stay tuned for the announcement andddddd make sure you are following @slmdskincare! ✌🏼❤️💥

A post shared by Sandra Lee, MD, FAAD, FAACS (@drpimplepopper) on

Of course, Dr. Lee wants you to get rid of your pimples, but, ironically enough, she doesn’t want you popping them — or your boyfriend’s! She tells us, “I’m going to be like any other dermatologist and tell you not to pop your own pimples, and also not your loved one’s pimples, but is this really going to stop you?”

If you insist on popping, it’d be wise to heed Dr. Pimple Popper’s advice, “If the pimple has a head, at that point it is OK to extract once because the bump is very superficial to the surface of the skin, but the area needs to be sterilized and be sure to use a clean tool. In short, know when to pop and know when to stop!”

To keep up with all Dr. Pimple Popper has going on, be sure to follow her on Instagram. If you’re interested in purchasing Dr. Lee’s SLMD skincare line you can check it out here.

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