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‘Dr. Pimple Popper’: Why Dr. Sandra Lee Calls Herself a Born-Again Popaholic


  • Published on
    April 7, 2019

Dr. Sandra Lee has kind of become the face of popaholics through her YouTube channel and TV show, Dr. Pimple Popper. Now she has called herself a born-again popaholic, what does that mean? Here is everything you need to know.

Popaholics refer to a subculture that is really into watching pimple-popping videos

Dr. Sandra Lee
Dr. Sandra Lee Getty Images/Brian Ach

Dr. Pimple Popper didn’t start the pimple-popping craze. Dr. Sandra Lee admitted that she noticed something that was already there.

“I started an Instagram page because I’m a dermatologist and I wanted to show a little window into my world and early on I put up a blackhead extraction video and it got a noticable increase in interest,” she told Jimmy Kimmel.

She later said, “I did it again and it happened again, and through that I found that there was this subculture on the internet of people who like sharing popping videos.”

She decided to tap into that, which led to her YouTube channel then show. Dr. Lee also sells merchandise that refers to popaholics.

She previously admitted to popping her own pimples

Many doctors and beauty experts would advise against popping your own pimples. However, many people do it and that included Dr. Lee. She gave advice on the best practices to do so if you can’t help yourself.

“My mantra is ‘Know when you pop, and know when you stop’,” she told Allure. “I can tell you [not to pop] until I go blue in the face, but you’re going to pop your pimples just like I do at home. You just need to know when to stop because you want to prevent scarring.”

She also advised paying attention to the coloring of pimples too. “When you have a red pimple under your skin, it’s not ready to pop,” the doctor noted. ”
You know it’s there, but you can’t get to it. The thing to do is to apply a warm compress and wait for it to come to a head.”

Although Dr. Lee could be referred to as a popaholic herself because she pops pimples, she admitted to not being a fan of watching other people’s pimple-popping videos.

“I don’t know if the environment was clean, or if the person was in pain,” she told Hello Giggles. When she films she knows she is using clean and proper equipment and she’s in a medical office. Now she refers to herself as a born-again popaholic, why?

Dr. Lee said she’s a born-again popaholic

Although popping has gained her fame, the dermatologist never expected her career to be focused on it. She revealed her new nickname for herself.

“I call myself a born-again popaholic,” she joked with South China Morning Post. “I don’t have to squeeze a cyst or remove a lump. I have two teenage sons, and I don’t feel compelled to pop their pimples.”

Her father was a dermatologist so she was used to seeing growths and extractions growing up, but never expected she would become one herself. Things still happened to come full circle and she gained fame from it.

It sounds like the dermatologist can joke about where her life ended up with her new nickname. Fans can find her she posting new popping videos on social media.

Read more: ‘Dr. Pimple Popper’: How Much Money Did Dr. Sandra Lee Make in Her First Months on YouTube?

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