The cringeworthy, yet strangely addicting footage of whiteheads being popped, cysts being ruptured and blackheads being extracted has turned a dermatologist into an internet sensation as thousands of people flock to her video channel to catch a glimpse of 'Dr Pimple Popper' in action.

Dr Sandra Lee is dermatologist at the Skin Physicians & Surgeons practice in Upland, California, and a regular guest on The Doctors talk show, but online she is known simply as Dr Pimple Popper, a moniker she used when she started posting clips of her patients' extractions on her YouTube channel. The clips have earned her nearly 60,000 subscribers, as well as loyal fan base of zit squeezing enthusiasts on Reddit.

'I find this little subculture fascinating,' Dr Lee told Racked of her followers. 'I pop these things, and yeah they kind of make me feel good, they’re satisfying, but it’s not like I seek them out.'

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All in a day's work: Dermatologist Dr Sandra Lee, who known as Dr Pimple Popper online, shares videos of herself extracting her patients zits on her popular YouTube channel

Day job: Dr Lee, from Upland, California, can be seen using a comedone extractor to pop one of her patient's blemishes

Dr Lee explained that when a patient comes in she offers to tackle their blemishes in exchange for them allowing her to post the videos of the process online, while keeping the clips as anonymous as she can.

And she noted that, despite the somewhat gruesome nature of her YouTube channel, 'nobody ever says no'.

Before she shot to internet fame, Dr Lee's channel, used to only feature a selection of TV segments that she had done, only had a few thousand followers. However, when she joined Instagram, she started posting short clips of her actually treating patients, a decision which quickly garnered her much more interest, prompting her to start putting full-length clips up on YouTube, starting with a video of her extracting a man's blackheads.

'I didn’t realize how big it would be,' she said of the video, which has received more than 360,000 views since it was posted in December.

Dr Lee explained that she was such an 'amateur' at the time; she barely knew anything about Reddit and was 'floored' when she learned that her video was being shared on a popular pimple popping subreddit. The experience opened her eyes to an entire community that she had no idea existed.

The doctor, who is now well-known on the subreddit, said the people are 'really wonderful'.

Big break: Dr Lee became an internet sensations after she posted this video of herself extracting a man's blackheads on YouTube. The clips was later shared on Reddit and helped her to earn a loyal fan base

But Dr Lee questions whether she is a 'true popper' because she doesn't actually enjoy watching people squeeze and poke their whiteheads and cysts on their own.

'I don’t watch any of the other videos,' she said. 'They all kind of gross me out! When they’re amateur, I don’t want to hear screaming, I don’t like that stuff.'

But pimple popping has quickly become a key part of Dr Lee's occupation. In fact, it's basically the family business; both her father and her husband are dermatologists as well.

According to Dr Lee the most popular types of popping are the extractions of blackheads and whiteheads, and she has now come to learn that there are two different varieties of video – ‘a soft pop and a hard pop'.

'Some people just like blackheads, it’s like soft porn, a soft pop,' she noted. 'And then there’s a hard pop, where people like more of a cyst.'

In March, Dr Lee posted a 'best of soft pop' video montage has been viewed more than 500,000 since it was posted last month.

'I've been listening to you guys, and I hear that there are two general groups of you PimplePoppaholics: Some like the SoftPop, some prefer the HardPop!' she wrote in the description. 'Of course, some of you like it all, but I thought I would try to make as many of you happy as I can. Here's a Soft Pop Best Of... I'll have a HardPop Best Of later today for you. Enjoy! [sic]'

Free time: The dermatologist, pictured in a selfie posted on her Instagram account, is now well-known among the pimple popping community on Reddit

Basic extraction: Dr Lee said videos of blackheads and whiteheads being removed (pictured) are most popular

And many commenters lauded Dr Lee for her rapport with her patients.

Dr Lee, who uses her iPhone and iMovie to shoot and edit the videos, told Racked that she likes to show the 'human side' of her patients by having them share their back story.

She said that her favorite clips are of a patient she calls 'Pop', who recently lost his wife to a 'chronic, painful sickness'.

'What's amazing is that what started as a video of my squeezing the blackheads on his nose has transformed into the wonderful feel-good human interest story,' she told Daily Mail Online.

She continued: 'They were inseparable, and he has had trouble adjusting to his new life in an assisted living facility. He has both financial and emotional stress, and he tells a little of his story in his videos.'

After hearing Pop's struggles, Dr Lee's YouTube and Reddit followers asked her to start him a GoFundMe page so they could help him financially.

The page, which was started on April 15, has already already exceeded its $5,000 goal - raising $5,665 in just eight days.

Family business: Dr Lee can be seen with her husband Dr Jeffrey Rebish, who is also a dermatologist

Addicting videos: Dr Lee can be seen extracting a blackhead from one of her patients

'He knows a little about what is going on, but doesn't know yet how much people have donated to help him out in his current situation,' she explained. 'He would be shocked to hear that well wishes are coming from all over the world.'

One commenter who made a donation noted: 'This gentleman reminds me of my grandpa. I wish him all the best, he is such a gentle soul. Lots of love from a French girl in the UK x [sic].'

Dr Lee said she plans on visiting him in his new home and present him with all the cards, messages and money that people have given him next week.

'I can't wait to see how surprised and touched he will be,' she said.

As for her extraction technique, Dr Lee told Racked that it's 'not completely sterile', but she uses clean gloves and a comedone extractor, which she said costs less than $20. Although she warned that people shouldn't pop their pimples because they can risk scarring, she admitted that she is guilty of squeezing her own zits at home.

For people who absolutely have to pick, Dr Lee advised them to use a warm compress and prick the blemish with a sterile needle when it comes to a head. But she he added that she can't ensure anyone that they aren't going to scar when they take matters into their own hands.

Dr Lee, who is also a skin cancer surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon, explained that she has posted videos of her doing other procedures, but people aren't as interested in them.

'People might construe that I’m addicted to this stuff, but I’m not,' she said of work as Dr Pimple Popper. 'This isn’t everything that I do. In fact, it’s a very small part.'