{"id":8961,"date":"2023-11-21T02:31:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T19:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=8961"},"modified":"2023-11-21T02:31:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T19:31:45","slug":"why-gross-beauty-videos-are-so-oddly-satisfying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=8961","title":{"rendered":"Why Gross Beauty Videos Are So Oddly Satisfying"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLUa1mxBKMRYk5bkHlsIRCKhJP6XIDPwGS\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLUa1mxBKMRYk5bkHlsIRCKhJP6XIDPwGS\"><em>What the Wellness<\/em><\/a> host <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elladove\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elladove\/\">Ella Dove<\/a> is sitting in a chair <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DIrOT6TMm_8&amp;t=17s\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DIrOT6TMm_8&amp;t=17s\">looking at a screen projecting images<\/a> of her hair. It\u2019s not a sexy Pantene commercial involving lustrous lengths and a bouncy tune. It\u2019s her scalp\u2026under a microscope\u2026and there is dust. Why has this video garnered nearly two million views on YouTube? It\u2019s the same answer to the question, \u201cHow did Dr. Pimple Popper become a cultural fascination?\u201d or \u201cWhy are people extracting ingrown hairs on my Explore page?\u201d On our way to the flawless, filtered perfection that we\u2019re willing to show on Instagram, we want to know that others are struggling with accepting their skin as it is\u2014because we often are, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there&#8217;s a natural human attraction to things that are ugly, gory, and devastating,\u201d says Dove, Well+Good\u2019s former director of creative development. \u201cWe drive by a car crash and rubberneck, for example. I think gross bodily functions are the same thing, and capturing it on camera is the same psychological phenomenon. We want to see what&#8217;s gross even though we want to look away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/josiehowardmd.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/josiehowardmd.com\/\">Josie Howard, MD<\/a>, a physician specializing in dermatology and psychiatry, Dove\u2019s thesis is right on the money, likening these videos to the effect of horror films. \u201cWhen we think about why people are drawn to horror films, there&#8217;s a cycle of anticipation, excitement, adrenaline release, followed by a sense of relief and safety or even mastery of having endured the fear,\u201d she says. \u201cWatching a medical procedure that is usually deemed off-limits can initiate a similar cycle of emotional and physiological responses.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/gross-beauty-videos\/\" current-title=\"Dr. Pimple Popper Has 20 Million Followers\u2014But Why Our Culture Is So Fascinated With \u2018Gross\u2019 Beauty Videos?\" current-image=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/GettyImages-1162874210-1-425x285_418x278_true_70.webp\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2023-05-20\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/gross-beauty-videos\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/gross-beauty-videos\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/gross-beauty-videos\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>The advent of the pimple pop and gross beauty<\/h2>\n<p>If you scroll <em>all<\/em> the way back to the beginning of Dr. Pimple Popper\u2019s YouTube, her feed doesn\u2019t begin with puss erupting through a pore. It\u2019s a lot of technical derm stuff, but around 2016, she found her niche. Coincidentally (or not), this is around the same time that Google searches for <a href=\"https:\/\/trends.google.com\/trends\/explore?date=all&amp;geo=US&amp;q=pimple%20popping&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/trends.google.com\/trends\/explore?date=all&amp;geo=US&amp;q=pimple%20popping&amp;hl=en\">\u201cpimple-popping\u201d<\/a> start to take off. <a href=\"https:\/\/drpimplepopper.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/drpimplepopper.com\/\">Sandra Lee, MD<\/a>, known as Dr. Pimple-Popper, is famous for making social media videos that feature her extracting various types of skin blemishes, including blackheads, cysts, and lipomas. These clips have accumulated millions of views, turning her into an internet sensation and even resulting in her own TV show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started posting on Instagram to show people a glimpse of what my specialty is really like. Early on, I posted a blackhead extraction video that got a lot more attention than my other posts,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople were commenting that the video was grossly satisfying, disgusting or that they were fascinated.\u201d Her community either <em>loved<\/em> what she did or <em>hated<\/em> it (rarely was there a middle ground), but either way, they tagged their friends, and Dr. Pimple Popper rose to fame. \u201cMy underlying intent was to entertain viewers but to secretly educate them as well,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>This phenomenon extends beyond pimple popping. Similar content, like earwax removal, toenail clipping, and knuckle cracking has also gained popularity. There is a universal curiosity about the human body and its imperfections, and the internet has provided a platform for this curiosity to be explored.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWhen we think about why people are drawn to horror films, there&#8217;s a cycle of anticipation, excitement, adrenaline release, followed by a sense of relief&#8230;Watching a medical procedure that is usually deemed off-limits can initiate a similar cycle&#8221;\u2014Josie Howard, MD<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Why do we watch?<\/h2>\n<p>Dr. Howard suggests a few reasons why \u201cgross\u201d beauty videos have caught fire. For starters, catharsis and release. \u201c[These videos are] something that allow people a momentary escape from the stressors that come at us from every direction. It takes something sensationalized like the \u2018gross-out\u2019 videos to compete with the constant influx of news and information that floods our consciousness,\u201d she says. In addition to this psychological escape we feel when a pore is scrubbed clean or a scalp is removed of debris, there\u2019s also the component of community and normalization.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, people with skin conditions can feel isolated or embarrassed, but watching others go through the same thing can help us to feel connected and less alone in our own skin-care journeys. \u201cI think there&#8217;s something normalizing in seeing someone, especially a respected dermatologist, doing pimple extractions. Most people with acne occasionally pick at their skin without it being pathological, but there is often a great deal of shame attached to the activity,\u201d says Dr. Howard. \u201cBy seeing pimple popping itself in the spotlight, it reduces the shame attached to the urge many people feel to pick at their skin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With this sense of community, however, Dr. Howard adds that it\u2019s still important to have an arm of education, both in regards to why it\u2019s often best not to pick at skin and also why a dermatologist\u2019s office doesn\u2019t have to be a scary place. Beyond the &#8216;gross-out&#8217; factor, these videos also help to paint a more vivid picture of what dermatological procedures (or scalp cleaning, or chiropractor\u2019s office, or ENT office) look like. Dr. Lee, for instance, explains the procedures she\u2019s performing, which helps her viewers to understand what a certain skin condition is. Ultimately, this broad education can help to ease fears about seeking any kind of help when needed.<\/p>\n<h2>So, is there a downside?<\/h2>\n<p>There is. As with everything on social media, the person behind the phone plays into the equation when it comes to what they\u2019re seeing on the scroll. That means that these videos will trigger some people with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/body-dysmorphic-disorder-skin\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/body-dysmorphic-disorder-skin\/\">skin-picking<\/a> or excoriation tendencies, which Dr. Howard says, \u201ccan harm the skin by causing scars and infection.\u201d It\u2019s worth noting that others with excoriation tendencies have been helped by these videos, which can act as a stand-in from picking their own skin.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Dr. Howard explains that a good first step to combatting this is to place resources next to the content. \u201cI would love to see information for psychological resources attached to all of these videos,\u201d she says, pointing to the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfrb.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.bfrb.org\/\"> TLC foundation,<\/a> which offers support for people with body-focused repetitive behaviors that can become problematic.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond this, as a society, we need to continue to advocate for life beyond perfectly shared moments on IG\u2014which arguably gross beauty does \u2014and for what it\u2019s worth, Dr. Howard believes we\u2019re seeing improvement in this arena. \u201cIt&#8217;s wonderful to see celebrities actually talking about their skin issues and the emotional consequences of those, as well as seeing beautiful models with conditions like vitiligo in the spotlight for their transcendent beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of us can feel alone with whatever we\u2019re dealing with, and as Dr. Howard sums it up, \u201cusing this platform to give voice to the emotional component of what it is like to live in imperfect skin\u2014as we all do in real life\u2014can be empowering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Check out Dove&#8217;s (admittedly gross) scalp facial for yourself:<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Deep Cleansing Scalp Treatment | What the Wellness | Well+Good\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DIrOT6TMm_8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What the Wellness host Ella Dove is sitting in a chair looking at a screen projecting images of her hair. It\u2019s not a sexy Pantene commercial involving lustrous lengths and a bouncy tune. It\u2019s her scalp\u2026under a microscope\u2026and there is dust. Why has this video garnered nearly two million views on YouTube? It\u2019s the same &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}