Dr. Pimple Popper talks new season of TLC show, the origin of her signature name and misconception about acne
As season 9 of "Dr. Pimple Popper" continues to grace TV screens this summer, Dr. Sandra Lee, the dermatologist known for her pimple popping expertise in videos that have garnered millions of views on the internet, opened up about her hit TLC series and how her trademark title came about.
Speaking exclusively to "Good Morning America," Lee, 52, said her famous nickname happened "sort of by accident."
"It was really early on in Instagram. And I was just trying to post some videos showing a little window into my world as a dermatologist," she shared. "And then I happened to post a blackhead extraction, I noticed that it got traction. And I thought, 'this is crazy.' So, I did it again. And it happened again. And it's just that there's something going on here…. And you know, what are we going to call this, you know? I just [decided] 'Let's call myself Dr. Pimple Popper.'"
However, Lee said the name "technically" came from Reddit after she discovered a group of users who share pimple-popping videos with each other.
"They all had a fake name," she said. "So, I thought, 'What name can I use?' And that was the name that I came up with. And it just stuck."
Paving the way for the type of skin care content she specializes in for mainstream audiences did not come easy, in fact, and she said that her journey involved some setbacks due to the nature of the videos themselves.
"When I was first posting things, I was on Instagram, but then I was on YouTube as well ... it was a fight at some point, many times, I mean -- I almost got kicked off of YouTube," she told "GMA."
"So many times I had strikes against me [from content moderation and safety teams], and part of it was, you know, people reporting my content as being gross and shocking. And I was coming back saying, 'Hey, this is medical content. This is me doing this in a very safe environment. This is interesting and educational … I'm trying to teach people about their own skin and the types of surgeries we do,'" Lee added.
The new season of "Dr. Pimple Popper", which began airing June 21 on TLC, includes 10 brand new episodes and "show more of a variety" of procedures and conditions, according to Lee.
"I think it's really important to show the different things that we treat," she said, adding that they have "yet to show" certain subject matter because "it's hard to find those conditions in a very short timeframe."
"... Sometimes [conditions] can be a little bit more emergent, like you need to treat them right away," she said. "We can't wait for cameras to set up or wait [for] filming [to finish to address the condition]."
The TV personality shared that season 9 also displayed her friendship with her friend Raquel and a different side of herself that's not "all serious," adding that her life "isn't just all about surgery."
"I'm just still a person, a woman, I have great girlfriends," she said.
Having her own show as a dermatologist has invited higher expectations from the public, and Lee admitted to having felt "a little pressure there to make sure that people know how great my specialty is."
"I just feel like really lucky to be in this position, but also a certain level of responsibility," she said, adding that there are "so many more [dermatologists] that are smarter than me that are, you know, more proficient at certain things within dermatology."
Lee also dished on her favorite part of her profession, which she said are her patients -- particularly "when you make that connection with your patients … and they trust you and you have this really wonderful conversation that makes you learn about them, or just about human nature in general."
"You do develop almost, like, a lifelong friendship with them," she said. "You get to know their kids, you get to know the grandparents, you get to know their grandkids. It's like a whole family sort of thing."
Discussing some of the wisdom she's gained from working as a dermatologist, Lee cleared up what she believes is one of the biggest misconceptions about acne during her chat with "GMA."
"I just don't like people with acne or pimples to be blamed for [their skin] -- it really is not their fault ... A lot of it has to do with genetics and hormones, really, and you can't control those things per se," she said. "That's why you have acne ... usually when you're a teenager, because that's when your hormones are all sort of out of whack."
She continued, "I think that, a lot of times, people think that those with pimples, their face is dirty and they just need to wash it more…. I think sometimes if you're told that your face is just dirty, and you have bad acne, if you try to wash it [too much], you can actually do more damage -- you can really damage your skin, really cause a rash or irritation. And so, making sure people know that it's not their fault is really important."
Lee added that for those with acne or who struggle with breakouts, there are "really great products out there, whether over the counter or prescription, that can really help to improve your [skin]."
Opening up about what she wants viewers to take away from her TLC show, Lee said she hopes viewers gain "some positive outcome or some happy ending."
"I think one of the greatest things is sometimes we'll have young people that come to my office to just meet me, which is amazing in itself, because they're like 5 or 7, you know, and they're like, 'Oh, I want to be you one day.' But what I think is really amazing is those young kids, it sort of teaches them to accept people, no matter how you look," she said.
Season 9 of "Dr. Pimple Popper" airs every Wednesday through Aug. 23 on TLC.
