Dr. Sandra Lee, better known as Dr. Pimple Popper, gave her Twitter followers a lesson on whiteheads in a tweet last week.
One time for a giant whitehead🙆🏻 #drpimplepopper pic.twitter.com/Qwstlcz1nR
— Dr Pimple Popper (@SandraLeeMD) April 16, 2018
“One time for a giant whitehead,” Lee wrote in the caption for an excerpt of a video on Monday. In the minute-long clip, Lee tries to extract a whitehead located just under a man’s eye. It does not work out as easily as she hoped, but she eventually got all of the gunk out of the man’s cheek.
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Lee has posted several full-length videos of whitehead extractions on her YouTube channel, where she has over 3.6 million subscriptions.
“A whitehead is also called a closed comedo (single for comedone). It is a completely blocked pore. Keratin (skin protein) and sebum (oil) combine to block the pore,” Lee wrote in the caption for a video on whitehead removal. “Whiteheads can be extracted using a Schaumberg-type comedone extractor as you see here, but often, a superficial nick in the skin must be placed first in the skin to allow easy extraction.”
According to bioClarity, there are several causes for whiteheads, including puberty, hereditary factors, stress, hormonal changes and personal life habits. The site notes that whiteheads are evidence that “your body is attempting to push out an infection.”
“The small bump of an infected pore indicates your skin’s efforts to push out any bacteria present,” bioClarity notes. “While whiteheads may seem like they pop up overnight, the formation of these closed comedones can actually take up to two months.”
Lee posts new tweets several times a day, including excerpts from her most popular videos. On Thursday, she also posted an excerpt from a longer video titled, “What is this on his Scalp? HINT: It’s not a Pilar Cyst.” In the video, Lee helps a man with an issue on his scalp.
Lee, whose office is in Southern California, has been posting Dr. Pimple Popper videos since 2015. She will soon be taking her pimple popping talents to television, since TLC will air a 12-episode series.
“My mantra is, ‘know when to pop and when to stop,’” Lee recently told the U.K. Mirror. “You shouldn’t pop anything on your face unless it has come to a white/yellow head. The area needs to be sterilised, and be sure to use a clean tool (Dr Pimple Popper extractor). Wash your face before with warm water to open up the pores. The spot should come out pretty easily if it’s ready, but there’s definitely a time to give up. Trying to force it will only irritate your skin and increase your risk of scarring. See a dermatologist to get those extracted.”
Photo credit: Twitter/ Dr. Pimple Popper
