Warning
POPTASTIC
Dr Pimple Popper squeezes dozens of clustered cysts from mum’s neck that pour like ‘hot butter’
SHE'S become widely known for her stomach-churning spot popping videos on the internet.
But Dr Pimple Popper's latest offering is one of the more oozing, hot buttery kind.
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The dermatologist, AKA Dr Sandra Lee, was visited by a 41-year-old whose entire body was plastered in clusters of cysts.
Nicole, from Sacramento, California, has been covered in protruding bumps on her ears, arms and back for nearly two decades.
But the most uncomfortable and embarrassing spot for the mum was on her neck - where it resembled bubble wrap.
Speaking to producers on the latest episode of TLC's Dr Pimple Popper, Nicole said: “They’ll just cluster.
"It’ll be nothing and then it’ll cluster. If you feel it, there’s like three or four underneath just in one sack.
“I feel like a guy, like I have an Adam’s apple. It’s not attractive."
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As the bumps of got worse over time, Nicole’s confidence dropped off a cliff, and leaving the house became a daily challenge.
“Out of all the bumps, the ones that irritate me the most are by my ears and on the front of my neck, because that’s what you see, that’s what people judge me on,” Nicole admitted.
After fruitless consultations with her doctor, Nicole said that out of desperation, she had tried to operate on herself in the past.
She said: “I’ve tried to self-pop them with a needle.
"Once the stuff is all out I’m happy, it’s great, but since I’m not a doctor it comes back bigger and worse. So all I did was infect it."
Trying to hide
Using wigs, scarves and long jumpers, Nicole did her best to hide her bumps.
She said: “It’s a struggle every morning just trying to get ready and having to look at myself and how ugly it looks.
“When people notice my bumps and point them out, it makes me feel like a freak. It really hurts, I’m not something to gawk at.”
When people notice my bumps and point them out, it makes me feel like a freak
Nicole
At the end of her tether, Nicole was desperate for help and to get her life back on track, for both her and her four-year-old daughter’s sake.
She tearfully said: “You’ve got to be strong for your kids, because if you can’t be strong who are they are going to lean on?”
“But inside I’m really dying.”
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She made the journey to Los Angeles, Dr Lee’s practice to see if she can get her bumps removed for good.
Inspecting the growths wrapped around Nicole’s neck, Dr Lee explained what she thought they could be.
She said: "They’re steatocystomas - clusters of benign, oily cysts that form in areas near the glands."
Seeing a couple of scars on Nicole’s chest, Dr Lee offers her patient some words of advice on self-popping.
“You can’t pop that and pull out that sack without anaesthesia,” she says sternly.
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Dr Lee tells her she will mainly focus on removing the bumps from her neck as it's a pretty big procedure.
She then numbs the area before cutting into each bump individually and squeezing out the yellowy, liquid contents.
“It’s like human butter,” Dr Lee jokes as the fluid pours out from Nicole’s bumps.
Painful procedure
Despite being under local anaesthetic, Nicole continually winces in pain throughout the procedure, especially when Dr Lee snips off the stringy cyst sacks from her neck.
“I don’t usually so this many steatocystomas in one sitting, and in fact I think it’s turning out to be harder on Nicole than she first thought it would be,” Dr Lee says.
One cyst in particular catches Nicole off guard as she seizes up in agony.
“That hurt, I felt that,” she says, holding back the tears.
What is steatocystoma?
Steatocystoma multiplex is a skin disorder characterized by the development of multiple noncancerous cysts known as steatocystomas.
These growths begin in the skin's sebaceous glands, which normally produce an oily substance called sebum that lubricates the skin and hair.
Steatocystomas are filled with sebum.
In affected individuals, steatocystomas typically first appear during adolescence and are found most often on the torso, neck, upper arms, and upper legs.
These cysts are usually the only sign of the condition.
However, some affected individuals also have mild abnormalities involving the teeth or the fingernails and toenails.
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After Dr Lee removes around 20 of the bumps, the procedure is over, much to Nicole’s relief.
Nicole says: “It’s like I got a new start.
“Dr Lee, thank you so much for everything you’ve done.”
Two months after the procedure, Nicole looks like a different woman as she strolls down the street with her daughter.
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She’s happy, confident, and best of all her neck is looking smoother than ever.
“There’s been a huge change in my life,” she says.
“Now that most of my cysts are gone, I don’t worry about having to cover up.”
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