SUMMER 2019|INNOVATION & TECH TODAY 45
It’spolarizing.Somepeoplefindit incredibly
soothing,whileothersfindit nauseating.But,
whetherit isforrelaxationorshockvalue,
pimplepoppingvideosstillgetsharedallover
theinternet.Nobodyknowsthisbetterthan
dermatologistDr.SandraLee,whobegan
sharingherownvideosbackin2014.Today,her
YouTubechannelboastsoverfivemillion
subscribers,andsheisheadingintothethird
seasonofherveryown show on TLC,Dr.
PimplePopper.
WehadtheopportunitytospeakwithDr.Lee
abouttheviralityofhervideosand the latest
trendsinskincaretechnology.
Innovation&TechToday: Whenyoustarted
postingvideosofyourwork,didyouknow
theyweregoingtobesopopular?
Dr.SandraLee:No,ina shortanswer.ButI
thinkI quicklyfiguredit out.Youknow,what
happenedisthat,aboutfouryearsago,I opened
anInstagramaccount,likea publicpagetopost
videos.I thoughtpeoplemightfindmyworlda
littleinteresting.I happenedto,earlyon,posta
blackheadextractionvideoandit definitelygot
a noticeableincreaseinattention.Nota ton,
becauseI onlyhadlikea couplethousand
followers,but,it gotsomeattention.I thought
thatwasreallystrange,soI didit againandit
happenedagain.Throughthatprocess,I
discovered that there was a subculture, a group
ofpeople,thatwould share popping videos on
theinternet.
I thought,“Hey,thisisthekindofthingI doat
work,sowhydon’tI justtrytouploadvideos
andseewhathappens?”I starteddoingthat,and
I didit everydaybecauseI sawthatpeoplewere
respondingtoit.ThenI thinkit wentviralthe
firsttimeBuzzFeedputa videooutaboutmy
video,a reactionvideo.I thinkI startedthisin
2014 andit cameoutin March and that’s when
it firstwentcrazy.
I&TToday: Whatisitlikemoving from
YouTubesensationtoTVhost?
SL:It’sdefinitelybeencrazy.Withthe
YouTubechannel,whatI reallywantedtodo
wasstartmyownskincarelineandusethe
moneyfromYouTubeandusethemoneyfrom
socialmediatocreatethisuniqueskincareline.
Butbeyondthat,I wrotea bookandthen
productioncompanieswerecomingin,calling
uponme.ButtheTVthing,I hesitatedactually.
Theywerepursuingmefora whilebeforeI
finallydecidedtodoa pilotorsomething,
becauseI didn’tliketheideaofa realityshow.
You’restillshowingyourlife,youknow?You
heareverybodyendsupdivorcedand you know
it justbringsdramatoyourlife.
Andalso,I losecontroloverwhatI do,you
know?WhenI makemyownvideos,I control
what’s on the video. I control everything aboutit.Soit wasreallya littlestressfulformetodo
that,certainly.Now it’s somebody else’s camera,
notmycamera.
I reallyputa lotoftrustintheproduction
company.AndI willsay,I ammorethanpleased
withhowtheyhavemadetheshow.I’mreally
protectiveovermypatientsandtheirprivacy.
OnYouTube,youdon’tseewhotheyare,buton
theT.V.youaregoingto.I justwanttomake
surethey’renotmadefunoforbullied.There’sa fineline.Becausea lotofthese
peoplehavethingsthatyouwouldstareatif you
sawtheminreallife.They’vereallytreatedit
verywell.I feelit’ssointerestingbecausethis
showhasbeena hit.Andthisissointerestingto
me;it’sbecauseit’slike the opposite of reality
showsthesedays.Thesedays,theshowstrytomakea bigdealat
nothing– orthrowtablesorthrowwineglasses
orsomething.Here,it’slikepeoplehave
somethingthatisobviouslya bigdealandthen
you’remakingit normal,sotospeak.Soit ends
upbeinga veryfeel-goodthing.I feelverylucky
tobea partofit andthatI canshowhow
awesomedermatologyisandwhat
dermatologistscando, that we are not just
pimplepoppers.
I&TToday: Afterallthepatientsyouhave
seen,doyouhavea case that stands out as the
most interesting?