Sometimes, Dr. Pimple Popper star Dr. Sandra Lee wishes a beauty trend on TikTok would go away.
“The beef tallow trend!” Lee, 54, exclusively told Us Weekly before the premiere of Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out on Monday, April 21. “That’s not so new, but the beef tallow thing’s a little crazy, where people are putting beef lard on your face to moisturize. There’s always things that make you question what goes on.”
Beef tallow is animal fat from a cow that some skinfluencers on TikTok claim to be a game-changer for healthy, hydrated skin.
While Lee always appreciates people who want to take care of their skin, the board-certified dermatologist tries to follow the rule of “everything in moderation.”
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“I think the Sephora kids or the kids that are into makeup or just going about skincare, I think that there are good things to it,” she explained. “Learning how to take care of your skin and wearing sunscreen — certainly at a young age — and those sorts of things will help you in the future. But I think the tough thing is that, just like with everything, you can take it to a limit.”
The founder of SLMD Skincare hopes beauty lovers of all levels do not feel pressure to look a certain way.
She also hopes people are careful with where they get their beauty and skincare information from.
“I’ve had myself AI’ed and you have me selling some product,” she said. “I’m like, ‘That’s not even me, but it’s my voice. It looks just like me.’ That’s frightening.”
As Lee prepares to bring her popular reality show Dr. Pimple Popper to Lifetime for the first time, the Mohs surgeon is hoping to provide both education and inspiration to viewers.
While she joked that many loyal fans are “fascinated with parts of the growth that occur that look like boobs or balls, that are not boobs or balls,” Lee believes her show is much more than popping pimples.
“I think that this show is about humanity. It’s about kindness. It’s about giving people their lives back,” she told Us. “We all know what it feels like to feel different, to feel alone and to feel embarrassed of what may appear.”
In every episode, Lee hopes to address life-affecting dermatological issues like oozing cysts and fatty tumors with patients from across the country.
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What comes next is a transformation that could impact the future of a patient in need.
“To see somebody change their life in such a dramatic way that now they can walk out the door, they could see their family or they could converse with a stranger without feeling embarrassed – that is a big deal,” she told Us. “That is why the show is so popular is because it makes you feel good about being human.”
Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out airs on Lifetime Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
